Drones for Good: Research and Ecology

2016 was the year that saw drone being used for many distinctive purposes, from capturing cinematic wonders to aiding NGOs in search and rescue missions to making possible ridiculous YouTube pranks. Lesser spoken about were the research studies that academics worldwide have done with their drone.

Much of these studies, featured in academic journals and university magazines, focused on conservation and environmental practices and the positive impact UAVs have made in their respective areas. Here, we take a look at three of the good use cases that were documented in 2016.

1.Drones and Marine Ecology

Aerial Imaging has long been used to track the changes of key ecosystems, such as mangroves, coral reefs and shallow ocean beds. However, UAV technology has only recently enabled researchers on lower budgets to embark on these types of studies.

Norway’s renowned Nord University produced a study done by researchers using a DJI Phantom 3 to map sea-grass meadows. Coyer, a PhD student on the project comments, “Sea-grass meadows are crucial nurseries for many fish species…[they] are dynamic ecosystems that change in space and time… We use the drone to understand and investigate the mechanisms behind these changes.”

By collecting visual data with drone, Coyer was able to contribute crucial materials to a study that looked into adaptation capabilities of sea-grass threatened by climate change. Without a drone, this procedure would have been very time consuming and expensive.

2. Drones and Carbon Footprints

Western Australia’s expansive rangelands are extremely valuable as spaces of biomass production and storage. Better rangeland management practices have been suggested which in turn effect the carbon content in the vegetative matter. However, proving the effect of these practices in the past have been extremely laborious and destructive to the environment.

Researchers in Perth, Australia have been developing drone that are able to capture large areas of rangeland landscapes and process the images into a 3-D point cloud. The lead researcher on the project explains, “Previously [measuring biomass] involved destroying the bush by cutting it all down and weighing to determine the biomass per hectare to calculate the amount of carbon.”

With drone technology, researchers can now utilize an environmentally friendly platform capable of long range and long endurance, suitable for capturing survey grade imagery over the rangelands. This an exciting new possibility for those involved in carbon farming, as outlined by researchers in Western Australia’s Outback Carbon Farming Conference.

3. Drones and Plant Ecology

Applications in Plant Sciences is a peer reviewed journal that promotes newly developed and innovative tools in all areas of plant sciences. In its September 2016 issue, it featured a study that used small drone fitting specific aircraft and camera requirements, such as the DJI Phantom to survey plant ecology.

The methodology section begins by stating, “The prospect of using drones for vegetation sampling is exciting because of the large amount of information that can be collected with minimal effort.” By collecting aerial surveys with drones, researchers can greatly expand the area that can be assessed with minimal disruption of sensitive plants and vegetation. They can now also gain samples of terrain that is otherwise difficult to access.

These studies pave way on how drone could be used to better understand the environment around us and more importantly, how we can encourage a more sustainable planet. While most people have their eyes on how drone technology can benefit businesses and workflow, let’s not overlook how they can also benefit society as a whole and the world we live in.

The post Drones for Good: Research and Ecology appeared first on Drone Inner.