  Despite the immense progress in the recent years, efficient solutions for
monitoring remote areas are still missing today. This is especially notable in
the context of versatile maritime and offshore use cases, owing to a broader
span of operating regions and a lack of radio network infrastructures. In this
article, we address the noted challenge by delivering a conceptual solution
based on the convergence of three emerging technologies -- unmanned aerial
vehicles (UAVs), battery-less sensors, and wireless powered communication
networks (WPCNs). Our contribution offers a systematic description of the
ecosystem related to the proposed solution by identifying its key actors and
design dimensions together with the relevant resources and performance metrics.
A system-level modeling-based evaluation of an illustrative scenario delivers
deeper insights into the considered operation and the associated trade-offs.
Further, unresolved challenges and perspective directions are underpinned for a
subsequent study.
