In recent years, drone technologies have been explored for a range of applications in conservation including (but not limited to) mapping, biodiversity inventories, antipoaching patrols, wildlife tracking, and fire monitoring. The rise of customizable, open-source drones like those of ArduPilot and OpenROV hold promise for more effective conservation applications, and combined with other monitoring sensors and devices, they are capable of collecting high-resolution data quickly, noninvasively, and at relatively low cost.
However, challenges remain in putting these tools to use. A recent paper reviewing 256 conservation drone projects highlighted some of these major obstacles, ranging from unintended social and ecological consequences of drone operations to still prohibitive costs, both in terms of hardware and in terms of storing and processing large volumes of data. The longstanding challenge of power/battery life remains as well.
If you're considering trying out drones for yourself, and want to explore the possibilities and understand the major conversations happening around this technology, check out these beginner's resources and conversations from across the WILDLABS platform:
Three Resources for Beginners:
- Conservation Technology User Guidelines Issue 5: Drones, World Wildlife Fund | Drones, best practices, ethics, regulations, case studies
- WILDLABS Virtual Meetup Recording: Drones, Craig Elder, Dr. Claire Burke, and Gabriel Levin | Drones, thermal camera, wildlife crime, ML, biologging
- New Paper: Drones and Bornean Orangutan Distribution, Sol Milne | Drones, data analysis, citizen science, community science, primates
Three Forum Threads for Beginners:
- Curious about radio-tracking with drones? | Wildlife Drones, Biologging (5 replies)
- Drones for GIS Best practice Document | Adrian Hughes, Drones (10 replies)
- WWF Conservation Technology Series: Drones in Conservation | Aurélie Shapiro, Drones (7 replies)
Three Tutorials for Beginners:
- How do I use a drone to capture radio-tracking data? | Debbie Saunders, Tech Tutors
- How do I choose the right drone for my conservation goals? | Shashank Srinivasan, Tech Tutors
- How do I strategically allocate drones for conservation? | Elizabeth Bondi, Tech Tutors
Want to know more about using drones, and learn from experts in the WILDLABS community? Make sure you join the conversation in our Drones group!
*Header photo: Parker Levinson, Point Blue Conservation Science
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Drone flight in Indonesia
16 April 2019 12:08pm
18 April 2019 5:07pm
Thanks so much Sol! How long did it take you to get permission to fly? And were there any costs associated with getting the permit?
4 June 2019 1:33pm
Hi Sophie,
Sorry- I only just saw your reply!
It took about 3 months to get it through the department of civil aviation, but this doesn't mean much, because the Indonesian system may be pretty different. It cost 250RM (£50) for each drone.
Cheers,
Sol
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22 August 2017 3:09am
Although not for NDVI but worth a mention for anyone looking at converting a camera into IR only.
I have had sucess using a DIY filter made out of blank processed camera film from a disposable camera. So long as you can still find somewhere to process the film (or do it yourself) you just cut the processed film (negatives) and replace the digital cameras IR filter (placed over the cameras sensor). This will simply turn the camera into an IR camera only so won't fit your requirement for NDVI but thought that it is worth posting if others are looking at converting a camera or Go-Pro into an IR camera.
23 May 2018 9:41am
Hi Thom,
Did you have any luck with the DIY sensor?
Sam
10 November 2018 11:40am
If you need a piece of exposed (black) film then please get in touch. I still take "real" slides and have a few black frames at start and end of each roll of film.
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16 March 2018 5:49am
Hi Ned,
Thank you so much for your response!
I absolutely agree- going out and testing flights over water at different angles and times of the day would be best. I'll look into a polarizing filter. I have spoken with some colleagues who recommend flying between noon and 3pm, and also that a cloudy day with diffused light can actually be quite helpful to avoid glint. I will look into the oil spill mapping - sounds very interesting. I've also heard that drones are sometimes restricted from oil spill regions due to risks of battery-caused fires (if the drones fall into the water).
Ved! Fantastic idea. I used to work with him down at Ames, so I will certainly reach out. Thank you for the reminder!
Cheers,
Chippie
6 June 2018 6:48pm
Hi CHippie - I am wondering how your thoughts are progressing on this topic? Please let us know an update.
Thanks
Michael
9 June 2018 12:10am
Hi Michael!
Thanks so much for following up. I have yet to really get my feet wet with drones & algal blooms (my water quality issue of interest at the moment), but what I gathered from my literature review is that hyperspectral cameras are a much more precise option than multispectral cameras for algal identification. I'm hoping to try out a red-edge camera to see if there is anything spectrally interesting, as I do not currently have access to a hyperspectral camera. For the time being, I am hoping to play with a MicaSense camera over wet habitat and see if anything can be observed. I'll keep you posted if I find anything of interest!
Thanks,
Chippie
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14 March 2018 4:29pm
27 April 2018 11:46pm
Thanks - I did look into blimps but the helium problem is a big one for remote work. I do have a couple UAVs but the area I work is tricky (airport, waterdrome, and helicopter landing with occasional ships that carry helicopters). my hope was for a tethered solution that could run for longer than the 20min battery life of a drone. thanks for the info.
27 April 2018 11:53pm
thanks I adnt thought of kites - I will have to test one in the field this year. I imagined one of the advantages of a tethered UAV is that I can parasitize all the camera elements (gimble stabilization, pan/tilt/zoom, and real time viewing of the imagery). Maybe I could just secure a cheap UAV under a kite... I wonder how I choose the correct kite size.
28 April 2018 5:13pm
hi Stephen,
Kites have gimbals too (ranging from simple strings to metal rigs) and you can connect to a camera much like a drone. In my case I have a gimbal hanging on a string, and to connect to my camera I get live connection and can change settings with the GoPro app! this website has lots of info - size of the kite depends on payload (some people fly SLRs!) and wind.
Www.kapshop.com
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NASA/NOAA did something like this with microbuoys for ocean temp sensing in the arctic - drone deploys (drops) micrbuoys and repeatedly returns to fly over fetching data over the following days and weeks
http://www.arcticobservingsummit.org/sites/arcticobservingsummit.org/files/Bradley_Microbuoys_AOS.pdf
Do you have a specific use case /location in mind?
If we could find research funding I'd be interested, I can fly &build UAS but this is also an interesting data management opportunity which I'm very interested in.
Perhaps you could mod the Ardupilot tracking antenna system if really needed but if you're flying in the vicinity with line of sight I bet you don't even need to aim the antenna
17 November 2017 2:31am
I've seen a couple of papers on similar capabilities, both with airborne drones as well as underwater drones, so there've been folks working on it. @emjay has a good point that the sensor nodes need to support this, which could be a bit tricky depending on your tolerance for battery life. What types of sensors are you thinking about supporting?
21 December 2017 3:48am
Hi Chris,
Your project sounds interesting! How's it coming along?
I'm based in the SF Bay Area. I don't have much drone experience, but it's something that I've been looking into recently. I'm currently working on a face recgnition system for brown bears with a bear researcher in BC, Canada. The goal is to identify bears on the data from camera traps to monitor populations and such. Currently the data is only collected a few times a season.
I agree with @emjay that the ground assets may be an issue. Do you have any thoughts on that front?
In any case, if you have some time in the coming weeks, I'd be happy to get together in the coming weeks to talk it over.
Ed
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24 August 2017 9:04am
24 August 2017 4:57pm
Excellent - started reading this yesterday. This is a very timely and pertinent paper. Thanks for sharing.
Drone Tracker
23 August 2017 6:47am
24 August 2017 2:54am
Hi Lot,
Thank you for your input. Currently we are the end user instead of developer. That means, we are still using commercial drone like DJI series. However the link that you give absolutely useful for our upcoming innovation plans.
Since we still using commercial type quadcopter, I'm looking for stand alone tracker that work as seperate system from the drone. In other words, this tracker will not be affected should the drone system crash.
So far me and my team come across this device
http://www.dronesmadeeasy.com/Marco-Polo-Drone-Tracker-RF-Recovery-p/marco_polo_1.htm
Unfortunately, the radio signal frequency range so far not approved by Malaysian authority. So, I'm looking for other option.
Anyone in this forum have other option/ opinion?
Regards,
Mazidi
24 August 2017 6:51am
Hi Mazidi,
A couple of options;
- Marco Polo. http://eurekaproducts.com/rc-model-tracking-and-recovery/
I know of people who have relocated their machine using this device.
- Conventional VHF for wildlife tracking. old but solid technology.
Also have a look at commercial / open source devices used for model rockets.
regards
MJ
EDIT: I see that you have already identified Marco Polo.
24 August 2017 1:15pm
Hi Mazidi, all the systems that I recommended are separate systems with their own GPS, not connected to the drone.
Just the last one was the only finished product.
Good luck. Please tell us if you found something good and cheap!
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17 April 2019 4:14pm
Hi Sophie,
The best thing would be to get in contact with the Department of Civil Aviation in the Indonesian state you're working in. You're right that you can fly without a permit for at low altitude in most places, but there may be diferent restrictions if the drone is used for research purposes so its worth checking. I received a license for drone work in Sabah (Malaysian Borneo) and they mainly wanted to know the drone specs, activities, flight coordinates, dates and if possible, times. The only restriction they gave us was to fly below 300 m,
There is usually a lot of back and forth between departments about who is ultimately responsible but they should be able to get it processed, as there are groups in Kalimantan using drones pretty regularly. Please let me know if you have any issues or need any other info.
Best wishes,
Sol