FPGA-Enabled Machine Learning Applications in Earth Observation: A Systematic Review
Abstract
New UAV technologies and the NewSpace era are transforming Earth Observation missions and data acquisition. Numerous small platforms generate large data volume, straining bandwidth and requiring onboard decision-making to transmit high-quality information in time. While Machine Learning allows real-time autonomous processing, FPGAs balance performance with adaptability to mission-specific requirements, enabling onboard deployment. This review systematically analyzes 68 experiments deploying ML models on FPGAs for Remote Sensing applications. We introduce two distinct taxonomies to capture both efficient model architectures and FPGA implementation strategies. For transparency and reproducibility, we follow PRISMA 2020 guidelines and share all data and code at https://github.com/CedricLeon/Survey_RS-ML-FPGA .
Fields of Study & Subjects
Advanced Neural Network Applications
UAV Applications and Optimization
Spacecraft Design and Technology
Publication details
- Journal / source
- ACM Computing Surveys
- Publisher
- Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)
- Volume
- 58
- Issue
- 11
- Pages
- 1–36
- Publication date
- 6 March 2026
- Language
- EN