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Drones / Feed

Used to pick up signals from tracking gear on the ground, collect images of wildlife and habitats from the air, gather acoustic data with specialized hydrophones, or even collect snot samples from whales' blowholes, drones are capable of collecting high-resolution data quickly, noninvasively, and at relatively low cost.

discussion

Aerial seeding with drones

Hi All, I just would like to share a video with some experiments that we made some years ago with aerial seeding from drones and massive seed ball production: https://www....

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This is really fascinating! This could also be potentially useful as a way to distribute vaccines for wildlife and livestock! 

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Drone training for forestry and conservation

Introduction to the use of drone systems for forestry and conservation Learn the potential of drones to monitor and map your projects More info available in: https://...

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Thanks for sharing, @Lot  

Adding a little more info in case anyone was interested but didn't click through - also, earlybird tickets are still available. 

WORKSHOP & TRAINING:

Drone applications in sustainable natural resource management

When: 15th to 19th May, 2017
Where: Palangka Raya, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia
For whom: Members of forestry companies, governmental environmental institutions, non-profit organizations and university research departments, as well as students.

@TWhitten this may be of interest for Indonesia team members using drones? 

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discussion

Operational guidance

We are increasingly using drones (primarily DJI Phantoms) and our management feels we should have some institutional guidance for their use, to be superceded by national...

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Hi Jane, 

Thanks for sharing the work the Research Data Alliance is develooing. It sounds complementary to the guidelines our community has started collaboratively developing. You can see where these guidelines are at over here in this thread. It would be great to have your experience (and that of your colleagues) as part of these guidelines, so we invite you to come and join in that process of building out these guidelines and keeping them alive.

Thanks for sharing the invitation to join your kick off meeting in April - will that be held in Barcelona, 5-7 April, 2017? I'm keen to explore how we could align our efforts as it sounds like what you're proposing is more detailed than what we're envisaging, and with a complementary focus. I agree, it would be great to ensure the conservation community perspective is build into your plans, and WILDLABS is keen to help facilate that. At the very least, the guidelines I've mentioned above should be at a point then that they might be useful to feed into your kick off meeting. If you have any more information or specific asks as the date gets closer, please do share them here. 

Cheers, 

Steph

 

 

 

 

Hi @twhitten ,

Over in the other thread  looking at developing best practise user guidelines @Jeremy+Lindsell shared a doc that might very well provide the template you're looking for. The Univeristy of Exeter dronelab research group (led by Karen Anderson) has developed a template for researchers using drones to help them meet CAA operating standards.

You can download the PDF here: 

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/suppl/10.1080/01431161.2017.1286059/suppl_file/tres_a_1286059_sm2155.pdf

And a Word version here:

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/suppl/10.1080/01431161.2017.1286059/suppl_file/tres_a_1286059_sm2164.docx

Thanks Jeremy!

Cheers, 
Stephanie

 

 

 

 

Hi @twhitten 

The British Model Flying Association provide a specialist insurance for drone operators who are not using them as a hobby nor for commercial purposes ("aerial work"). The category is termed "data, development and demonstration" and is recognised by UK Civil Aviation Authority as a legitimate mode of opeation that doesn't fit the current binary legislation of hobby or commercial. The insurance covers worldwide liability for operation. Most other drone insurance avilable assumes you are commercial, doing "aerial work" by CAA definition, and have a formal CAA licence.

BMFA are also a good source of information about current UK Gov and EU discussions on further legistlation re drones (registering all users for eg).

Best

Jeremy

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discussion

Using Parrot technology to save the Sequoias

Check out this cool story about how Parrot's technology is being used to protect forests http://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/parrot-drones-sequoia-trees/

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Please note that they main use is Parrot sequoia multi spectral sensor, and not specifically Parrot drones.

I think they mainly use 3DR Solo drone for make the mapping of the sequoia.

Thanks for the link, @jprobert ! Parrot Education Blog's own link also here for reference http://edu.parrot.com/blog/2016/12/06/parrot-pix4d-team-forest-canopy-biologists-study-giant-sequoias/

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Experience with DJI drones?

Does anyone have experience using DJI drones for monitoring? I am thinking about using a DJI drone for my Masters. Just wanted to get some thoughts on it.

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Hi Jprobert.

I don't have experience with DJI drones but I do have quite a bit of experience with 3DR and drones in general.

What are you using the drones for? Get in touch if you'd like some advice.

Tom

Hi Jprobert,

I have been trying to use my Phanton 3 proffessional together with Pix4Dmapper to trial out some forest mapping in Principe Island.

if you are interested check it out the interview I give to CNN Inside Africa about how drones and 3D mapping technologies are bringing our knowledge of Principe island’s forests into the 21st Century.

http://edition.cnn.com/videos/world/2016/11/07/inside-africa-sao-tome-and-principe-biosphere-b.cnn

“How Sao Tome and Principe embraced ecotourism: Sao Tome and Principe is promoting small-scale, high-end tourism, preserving the island's ecosystems so they can be enjoyed for years to come. Source: CNN”


Also If you want know more about the use of drones for conservation check the full story at FFI website:

http://www.fauna-flora.org/putting-principe-back-on-the-map-with-3d-technology/

Regards,
Felipe Spina
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/felipe-spina-avino-91716193

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discussion

Travelling with a drone/UK regulations

Hi guys, A friend of mine is visiting Cambridge and he would like to bring his drone from Spain. He is certified as drone operator in Spain and he would fly around the...

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Hi All,

For a full list of countries and drone regulations the most up-to-date site is the wiki of uaviators:

http://wiki.uaviators.org/doku.php

Regards

Hi all,

First of all, sorry for this delayed response! Thanks for the info, unfortunately i did not have enough time to inform my friend, but now we know for the next time! ;) 

Regards

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discussion

DJI Mavic Pro vs. GoPro Karma

Hello all,   I'm watching DJI's announcement of the DJI Mavic Pro and it is absolutely fascinating. It has fold-up propellers, 27 minute flight time, multiple...

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I will not consider karma for conservation, the 3DR Solo instead is much more smart and open source. Ready for more tasks than just a flying camera.

Mavic of course is very small and very useful for walking on nature.

 

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discussion

Drone teaching/research license

Hello all, The US Federal Aviation Administration recently came out with a long awaited license for piloting drones. Under the new regualtions, anyone with a license can...

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Hi all, 

 

I'm thinking about going for my license. In doing so, I'll do a writeup of my experiences for you all so that way those of you in the United States who are interested in using drones have something to reference when going to take the exam.

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discussion

(ARCHIVED) PHD position available in using drones for mapping

A new PhD position is available at Liverpool John Moores University to work with UAVs and a multispectral camera to study the forests where orangutans and chimpanzees occur. For...

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@Lenny Just saw your profile on the members section. You might be interested in this. 

The application was 20th September though?

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discussion

New review: Opportunities and challenges of drones for ecology

Katherine Christie and her co-authors have published a new review in the use of UAVs for conservation in Frontiers of Ecology and the Environment.  In a nutshell...

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Unfortunately, I could not see the full article, but the executive summary makes a lot of sense.  I think there might be a couple of other considerations. 

1) As drones become more ubiquitous it is possible that poachers also adopt the technology.  

2) Even if poachers don't adopt the technology, in some high value poaching scenarios they may be able to eavesdrop on the drone communication.   Eventually some kind of security may be necessary to protect the information collected by the drones.  

Overall, I think drone technology is developing at a rapid pace and will prove to be very helpful in conservation.

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discussion

Analytical report on drones in conservation value.

A very interesting article on drones (used lately) in conservation, I'd say brilliant article, summed with facts on drones, people who are engaged in drones in...

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For anyone interested in an overview of how drones are being deployed for conservation, this piece by Serge Wich (of ConservationDrones.org) provides a comprehensive run through the possibilities.  

 

 

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article

Can Drones Live up to the Hype?

Paul Glover-Kapfer
Drones are being explored for a spectrum of applications in conservation that include mapping, biodiversity inventories, antipoaching patrols, wildlife tracking and fire monitoring. However, questions remain about...

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Great article talking about applying drones to scientific research

I thought this was a great article. It highlights different, current uses of research in UAVs. 

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Interesting.  A case in point is the viral video making the rounds about drone fishing:

We've seen an array of inventive uses for drones of late across a whole range of endeavors, often having direct or indirect implications for natural resource management.  Using drones to improve our ability to target/hunt species of concern seems at once both a natural progression and something new with a slightly ominous overtone.  This strikes me as one of those moments where we might want to pause and take stock of what is going on with this technology and where it might go in the not too distant future.

Should we ignore this development?  Work to restrict the use of drones for such activities?  Support this?  Regardless of where we might come down on this question, I can't help but fell that this notion of drone fishing certainly seems to have the sense of "crossing the Rubicon" somehow.

http://aarr.piratelab.org/news/drone-fishing/

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article

Can UAVs be Used to Measure Forest Quality?

Tom Swinfield
A team of researchers is using UAVs to photograph tropical forest canopy with the aim of developing low-cost methods for measuring forest quality and directing restoration management. In this case study for the Drones...

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discussion

What to you is the biggest small problem with using UAVs in the field?

With the way UAVs are designed now, there are large issues with things such as range, battery life and flight time. I'm curious, what is a small problem that should be...

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Wait, can you implement the range extenders in DJI systems? Is it costly in order to do so?

jprobert,

Due to the proprietary nature of DJI, no the antenna tracker listed above cannot be added easily.  Some engineering would need to go into hacking DJI.  I'm not sure if you can get the telemetry data  from DJI's app or ground control station.  If so, one could parse the telemetry data and feed the GPS location into the open source tracker.  You could also add another radio on board which transmits the GPS from the UAV.  However, this is not the most efficient way and will cost some flight time for the added weight and power consumption.

Without hacking DJI or doing some digging, you could replace the antennas on the hand controller and UAV with higher gain antennas.  This could improve range, but would limit the directions you could fly(directional antenna).

I will look into data provided by DJI and see what it possible.

I agree that it is likely that a dirigible would probably struggle in a lot of common mapping settings. People do use kites though. If you are interested in developing the flight control systems for dirigibles though I would also suggest that the best place to start is Ardupilot.

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discussion

Collecting Your Opinions about Drones

We are entering the final week or so of our 2nd annual opinion polling effort centered around better understanding the public's general experience with and opinons about UAVs...

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Hi Sean, 

Thanks for sharing your survey - is there a specific date you'll be closing the survey? 

It'd be great if you could share the results of the survey here, as I (for one) will be quite interested to see what comes back. 

Cheers, 

Steph

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discussion

Solar powered drone for conservation

Hello everyone I'm excited to have joined this community interested in trying to enhance conservation efforts with modern technology. I've been working on...

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Hey Gregg,

The project looks cool!

Just wondering how much you envisage the load carrying capacity of the drone to be? So being able to carry cameras, GPS, etc.

Also, do you see the price coming down later? $5000 sounds quite steep...

And finally, have you thought about creating it as an open source project? Since all the perks at this points are mostly symbolic, this way people would be more compelled to contribute.

 

Have a nice day,

Daniel

Hi Daniel

Thanks for the interest in the project.

The load carrying capacity will be a few kgs. The battery I've sized at this stage is around 2kgs and should allow it to fly over night, but if this storage is increased in future it will impact the other loads. It is a tricky trade-off between flight time and capability.

I'm hoping to include both visual and thermal cameras on a gimbal but they will need to be miniature versions (adds to cost). The drone will definitely include GPS/autopilot and I'm also hoping to include onboard image processing in future so the drone can send an alarm when it notices something out of place. The video feed will also need to be encrypted so that poachers cannot use the drone as their own scouting vehicle.

The price tag of $5000 is for the first few prototypes and will come down with mass production and buying in bulk. I don't see it dropping much below $3000-4000 at current equipment prices though. For instance, the solar PV cells and charge circuit alone will cost around $1000 and the cost of even the cheap uncooled microbolometer therml imagers is over $1000. This isn't an average consumer drone but I've tried to keep the costs down as much as possible so it's feasible. I've also considered offering a stripped down drone of just the charging circuit and airframe so that people can add their own equipment and autopilot etc.

In terms of the perks, I tried to model this campaign after other campaigns that had a product already, which has been a mistake. The build diary included in some of the perks was my attempt at making it open source. I am considering reworking all the perks as it is unlikely to get any funding at this stage. 

Thanks for the valuable feedback. Please let me know if you have any other questions or comments.

Cheers,

Gregg

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