Research stories
Leveraging new technologies for cost effective environmental research Given the rapid rates of environmental transformation we face today, high quality ecological data are needed now more than ever to build the evidence base for informing land use decisions and conservation strategies. Unfortunately, the urgency of this requirement is starkly juxtaposed with an increasingly challenging research funding climate. Low-cost civilian drones present promising possibilities. The civilian use of unmanned aircraft (or drones) is rapidly gaining popularity and acceptance worldwide. A recent market survey reports that by 2025, the economic impact of the civilian drone market will exceed USD$80 billion in the United States alone, resulting in the creation of more than 100,000 new jobs. The rapid growth of the civilian drone sector creates enormous potential for stimulating Australia’s economy as well. In the two years leading to 2014, the number of drone-related Australian companies accredited by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) increased 13-fold, from 15 to almost 200. Drone technology presents excellent cost-saving opportunities in field-based applications such as the detection, monitoring and mapping of wildlife, their habitats and the wider landscape. These applications are highly relevant to natural resource management goals including species conservation, habitat protection and restoration, pest species eradication and watershed management. It also creates new avenues and possibilities for research by enabling the collection of data of much
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higher spatial, spectral and temporal resolution than conventional approaches. Environment Institute leader Associate Professor Lian Pin Koh is a pioneer in the development and use of these so-called ‘conservation drones’. In 2012, he and UKbased primatologist Professor Serge Wich co-founded non-profit ConservationDrones. org, to bring this technology to conservation workers around the world. Since then Associate Professor Koh has partnered with conservation and research organisations from more than a dozen countries including the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, World Wide Fund for Nature, the Jane Goodall Institute, Wildlife Conservation Society, Conservation International, Greenpeace, the Max Plank Institute. He also spoke on conservation drones at the 2012 WWF Fuller Symposium in Washington DC, the 2013 TEDGlobal event in Edinburgh, and the 2015 Clinton Global Initiative University in Miami, Florida. With the support of the Office of the DVC & VP (R), Associate Professor Koh recently established the University of Adelaide’s Unmanned Research Aircraft Facility (URAF)
Leveraging new technologies for cost effective enironmental research
as an extension of his research program within the Environment Institute. The URAF currently has six staff members holding Controller Certificates awarded by CASA. It is being accredited for an Operator Certificate for full compliance with CASA guidelines and regulations, and is also in the process of seeking accreditation to provide drone training to staff and students. Capabilities of the URAF include: >> Asset Management: Inspection of Fence
Lines, Water and Gas Pipelines, Water Towers, and Cattle Watering Points >> Precision Agriculture: Measurement and
Analysis of Crop Vigour in High Temporal, Spatial and Spectral Resolution; Livestock Location for Mustering; Integrated Pest Management >> Wildlife Management: Thermal Imaging
and Detection of Wildlife; Radio Tracking of Collared Animals; Population Estimation of Wildlife >> Habitat Management: Mapping and
Monitoring of Invasive Plant Species; Mapping of Fire and Burn Sites; Detection and Mapping of Mosquito Breeding Sites >> Archaeological Surveys: Scouting and
Mapping of Sites of Historical and/or Cultural Significance; 3D Reconstruction of Archaeological Sites The overarching mission of the URAF is to provide the organisational infrastructure, as well as the technical and legislative knowledge base concerning the use of drones for a wide range of environmental and agricultural applications. It also serves as a coalescing node for fostering partnerships and interactions related to drone applications between students, researchers, and natural resource managers in South Australia.