Systems and methods for managing unmanned vehicle interactions with various payloads

A system for operating an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), the system comprising:

• a UAV ladened with multiple payloads having at least one smart payload;
• a UAV microprocessor-based controller configured to a) receive information from at least one communication circuit of the smart payload and b) provide control signals for the UAV based on the received information;
• and
• a payload adaptor including an electrical interconnect configured to couple with a payload electrical interconnect and configured to couple the smart payload to the UAV, the payload adaptor including a communications link from the smart payload to the UAV microprocessor-based controller;
• wherein the information received from the smart payload comprises at least one payload-specific mode, and wherein the payload specific mode comprises at least one navigation mode, including at least one of a road-avoidance mode or a UAV avoidance mode.