Responsible drone use in biodiversity conservation: Guidelines for environmental and conservation organisations who use drones
These guidelines are free to download in four languages from the CIFOR site here.
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Protecting people and wildlife from the potential harms of drone use in biodiversity conservation: interdisciplinary dialogues
Another exciting paper on interdisciplinary dialogues on drones in bidiversity conservation is now out and also open access. Abstract In this policy intervention, we recount the process of producing a policy briefing targeting… Continue reading
Exploring the opportunities and risks of aerial monitoring for biodiversity conservation
An exciting new paper led by Naomi Milner is now out and open access. Abstract Drones are unoccupied aerial systems (UAS) whose technology has evolved rapidly over the past 15 years. Increasingly used… Continue reading
Adding flight track to video with Mavic 3 Enterprise
With the new DJI Mavic 3 Enterprise series it became very easy to add the flight track to the video on a screen which is useful for surveys for instance. I put up… Continue reading
Deep learning for animal detection in drone images with ConservationAI
Together with several collaborators the ConservationAI team is using deep learning to detect animals in video footage from drones. See these links for an example for the Arabian Oryx and spider monkeys.
So many terms for the things we fly! Drone, uav, uas, and so forth! What to use?
‘Drone’: technically correct, popularly accepted, socially acceptable: Different fields use different terms, but by changing its title, the journal Drone Systems and Applications (formerly the Journal of Unmanned Vehicle Systems) is advocating for the… Continue reading
An exciting application for drones: Collecting cliff plants!
Recently a drone, called Mamba, was used to collect plants growing on cliffs. A very creative and exciting application of drones. You can read about the study in the scientific paper here. The… Continue reading
Noninvasive Technologies for Primate Conservation in the 21st Century
Drones are part of a set of technologies used in conservation. Our open access paper describes a number of technologies that are used to support primate conservation. You can download the paper here:… Continue reading
New book on conservation technology
Drones are part of a whole array of technologies (e.g. camera traps, acoustic sensors, loggers, satellites) that can be used as tools to support conservation efforts. Alex Piel and I were fortunate enough… Continue reading
Steps to build a DIY low-cost fixed-wing drone for biodiversity conservation
In an open-access paper led by Geison Mesquita the steps to build a low-cost DIY fixed wing drones are clearly explained for non-engineers. This is a great resource for the conservation community.
Video analysis for the detection of animals using convolutional neural networks and consumer-grade drones
In April of this year we published a paper on using neural networks for object detection in video images from drones in near real time. We used a DJI Mavic 2 Pro for… Continue reading
Drone training in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
The conservationdrones team just returned from a drone training in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. You can find more details here.
The Next Generation ConservationDrones Long Range VTOL is out
Next Generation ConservationDrones Long Range VTOL The next generation ConservationDrone is capable of vertical take-off and landing or VTOL in full auto mode and fly a distance of 70 KM. We believe this… Continue reading
New paper using drones for orangutan conservation is out
Sol Milne led a new paper titled”Drivers of Bornean Orangutan Distribution across a Multiple-Use Tropical Landscape” that has been published today in Remote Sensing. It is open access and you can download it… Continue reading
Bandro lemur habitat video
The Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust and Liverpool John Moores University collaborate on a project to survey the critically endangered bandro lemur population and habitat with drones. A video of its habitat can be… Continue reading
Drones help researchers evaluate effect of boat noise on whales
A recent study in eLife led by Dr. Kate Sprogis examines the effects of boat noise level on whales. The research team explored whale responses to boat noise using behavioral observations captured with… Continue reading
New temporary post for a machine learning expert
For a project on automated orangutan nest detection on drone images we are looking for a machine learning expert who is interested in conservation to be part of our drone and machine learning… Continue reading
New paper on swifts
Geison Mequita led this new study in Current Zoology on swifts in Brazil where we examined the effect of a small multirotor on swift behaviour.
ConservationAI Update
We have been working hard on the ConservationAI website. It has some new models on there to detect species. The system can be used for drone and camera trap data. It also allows… Continue reading
Looking for drone footage from African mammals for machine learning
It has been quiet here but we have not been stopping our drone work. In collaboration with Carl Chalmers, Paul Fergus, and Steve Longmore we have been working on a site to start… Continue reading
Requirements and Limitations of Thermal Drones for Effective Search and Rescue in Marine and Coastal Areas
Building on our conservation work the Liverpool John Moores team is now applying the things we have learned fro our conservation work in the search and rescue setting. Claire Burke led a recent… Continue reading
Drones to detect fires
Flying drones (DJI Mavic Enterprise) in preparation for workshop: “Developing Automated Detection and Monitoring of Peat Fires in Indonesia with Thermal Cameras under Drones”. A collaboration between UPT CIMTROP UPR, Borneo Nature Foundation,… Continue reading
Drone and GIS coordinator position with Borneo Nature Foundation
New position at the Borneo Nature Foundation for Drone and GIS coordinator. See details here.
West Java flights
Some flying was done in West Java and showed how much plastic there is on some of the beaches and in the sea. View the video here.
New MSc in Environmental Science and drone applications at LJMU
For people interested in a taught masters with a drone component. Check out our new MSc for researchers interested in environmental science and drones here We also still have the Wildlife Conservation and… Continue reading
Paperback of conservationdrones book is out
The paperback of the Conservation Drones book was published a few days ago by Oxford University Press. For an overview of some of the projects and the issues featured in the book see… Continue reading
Orangutan detection with drones and thermal camera
In a new paper we provide the results of our research on detecting orangutans with a thermal imaging camera under a multirotor in Sabah. ABSTRACT We investigated the efficacy of a drone equipped… Continue reading
New paper on drones and thermal cameras to detect spider monkeys
Denise Spaan led a new paper on how drones equipped with a thermal imaging camera can facilitate counting spider monkeys.
New paper on poacher detection with drones
Leonard Hambrecht led our new paper on detecting poachers with drones carrying a thermal imaging camera. The paper titled “Detecting ‘poachers’ with drones: Factors influencing the probability of detection with TIR and RGB imaging… Continue reading
Help us save endangered animals using drones with thermal infrared cameras
We have a new project up on Zooniverse where you can help us with identifying animals in thermal infrared images. We will then use these images to train machine learning algorithms to automate… Continue reading
Conservation drones book is out!
Six years after we started conservation drones we have now written up a book about our own work and that of many of our colleagues on the usage of drones for conservation. You… Continue reading
Dramatic drone footage reveals bird’s eye view of tree top heronry
Drone footage of a large heronry could shed new light on bird populations across the country. The remarkable footage, shot at the Woodland Trust-owned Parrs Wood at Grappenhall Heys in Warrington, Cheshire, shows… Continue reading
Drone monitoring of invasive plan species
Colleagues in the US have been using drones for monitoring of invasive plants. The Lake McMurtry team was asked to survey the spread of a recently identified invasive aquatic plant called Yellow Floating… Continue reading
Grey heron monitoring in the UK
Megan Melia,a MSc student at Liverpool John Moores University used drones with RGB cameras to count the nests of grey herons in the UK. Here you can see some of the footage that was taken for her research.
Help finding orangutan nests on drone images
Sol Milne, a PhD at the University of Aberdeen, started a great citizen-science project in which people can help locate orangutan nests on photos taken from a drone flying above the forests in… Continue reading
Guest blog on Machine Vision
We are keen to feature work from other projects that use drones for conservation as well. Feel free to send us some text and a video such as the one featured here: MACHINE… Continue reading
Footage from a study using RGB and thermal footage to detect people in miombo woodlands
Some preliminary footage taken with a Thermal camera from TeAx Technology and a RGB MAPIR camera that were attached under a F550. Part of a study to assess the factors that determine detection of… Continue reading
Amazon river dolphin project
A new exciting project in Brazil to use drones to find the Amazon river dolphin. The video was created by the fantastic WWF Brazil team who have been flying there to find the… Continue reading
Cetacean survey in Timor Leste
In collaboration with the Centre for Applied Conservation Science and URAF at the University of Adelaide, Conservation International conducted a scoping study of cetaceans in Timor-Leste using the 3DR Solo and Parrot Disco. In… Continue reading
Chester Zoo: Wildlife Connections Festival
At the Wildlife Connections Festival on the 16th and 17th of September we flew a multi-rotor drone to show the public one of the technologies that Chester Zoo and the partners it supports are… Continue reading
The Good Drone
Members of the conservationdrones team authored a chapter titled “Wings for Wildlife: the use of Conservation Drones, challenges and opportunities” in the new book The Good Drone by Kristin Sandvik and Maria Jumbert.
Tree cover analyses in Tanzania in collaboration with EnviroDrone
Last May the Conservation Drones team revisited the Issa region in western Tanzania to continue the collaboration with the Ugalla Primate Project, Jane Goodall Institute Tanzania. For some of the land-cover analyses we teamed up with and EnviroDrone. The Conservation… Continue reading
Forest monitoring in Suriname with Conservation International
Conservation Drones recently continued its work with Conservation International in Suriname as part of a broader forest monitoring program. The video below highlights Conservation International Suriname’s ongoing efforts to work alongside local teams… Continue reading
100km conservationdrone
Keeyen Pang from the ConservationDrones Asia team developed a system that can fly for a 100 kilometers. It can be used as a mapping or video system and is based on a Skywalker… Continue reading
Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Program nominated for UAV Humanitarian Award
The Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Program has been collaborating with conservationdrones to protect the Sumatran orangutan. They have now been nominated for the UAV Humanitarian Award. Watch the video here.
Featuring guest projects
Many of you that are reading our blog have started to use drones for conservation purposes and we would like to use our site as a platform to showcase your work as well.… Continue reading
Conservation Drones and Chimpanzee Conservation in Tanzania
Conservation Drones took the the skies over regions of western Tanzania this past summer in collaboration with the Ugalla Primate Project and the Jane Goodall Institute Tanzania. Over the course of dozens of… Continue reading
ConservationDrones on Instagram
Our teams work with and provide support to organizations all around the globe. While we sometimes share updates through specific blog entries, there are often many more fieldwork photos and stories than we… Continue reading
Publications page
With the increase in the use of drones for conservation and environmental research we thought it would be useful to share our list of papers on these topics. Therefore we just added a… Continue reading
Using conservationdrone images to automatically count oil-palm trees using the spatial modeller in ERDAS IMAGINE 2015
ConservationDrones.org provided images to Sterling Geo to develop an automated method for counting palm trees from UAV imagery using ERDAS IMAGINE 2015 Spatial Modeller. For further information visit http://www.sterlinggeo.com The Sterling Geo team… Continue reading
UAV and Environmental Research Conference at LJMU in Liverpool
From 7-8 July the 2nd UAV and Environmental Research Conference will be held at in Liverpool. The conference is co-organized by Serge Wich from ConservationDrones.org and LJMU. More information is available here. Places are… Continue reading
View from Above – Using Drones to Help Support The Jane Goodall Institute’s Conservation Efforts in Congo
In collaboration with Ready-to-Drone, Conservation Drones (Technical Director, Jeff Kerby) recently traveled to Congo to train staff from the Jane Goodall Institute on how to fly their new mapping and surveying drone. Here… Continue reading
New exciting collaboration between Conservation International and Conservationdrones
To assist in protecting the Central Suriname Nature Reserve we are collaborating with Conservation International Suriname. Conservation International prepared this video about the project.
‘Data Mule’ Drone is the national champion in Dubai’s Drones for Good competition
Those of you who have watched our TED talk in 2013 would remember our wish for a drone that can remotely download images from camera traps in a forest – a ‘data mule’ drone. Fast forward… Continue reading
FLIR + ThermalCapture setup
Just received the FLIR Tau 2 640 (9mm, f/1.4, 9 Hz) + ThermalCapture unit from TeAx Technology (sales@teax-tec.de). This is a short video showing how I am setting it up to be carried… Continue reading
Identifying illegal logging in drone imagery using Google Earth Engine
A quick demonstration of on-the-fly land-cover classification of drone-derived orthomosaics using Google Earth Engine for the purpose of delineating illegally logged areas.
ConservationDrones teaming up with Dutch UAS
Dutch UAS and ConservationDrones are combining expertise to develop a fixed-wing drone with a user-interface that automatically detects people and rhinos. The aim is to provide a ranger with a tool that will… Continue reading
How to find a downed drone in a rainforest?
For Graham Usher of the SOCP, he flew another drone to locate it! (See if you find it in this image!)
Conservation Drones Recycling Bin
ConservationDrones.org has benefited tremendously from the generous support of many groups. We are launching a new initiative to pay this forward. If you have ‘preloved’ drone equipment in working order that are just… Continue reading
ConservationDrones Joining Forces with Google Earth Outreach
We are partnering with the fantastic folks at Google Maps Engine and Google Earth Engine to host and process data from our drone missions. This will make it easier for researchers and conservation… Continue reading
Testing the ThermalCapture – A Backpack Digital Recorder for FLIR Tau 2 Cores
(Right-click here to download the first RAW video file in its native 324 resolution.) (Right-click here to download the second RAW video file in its native 324 resolution.) ConservationDrones tested a backpack for… Continue reading
Evidence of illegal logging activity detected by conservation drones in Gunung Leuser National Park
The ConservationDrones Asia Team and the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme (SOCP) flew two separate missions over a part of the Gunung Leuser National Park (Indonesia) between two time periods barely a few months… Continue reading
Scotland revisited
The conservationdrones team (Brenden Duffy and Serge Wich) returned to Scotland more than a year after the first trip. The aim of this trip was to train Dr. Larry Griffin of the Wildfowl… Continue reading
Raven Thermal Imaging camera test
We often get asked whether thermal imaging cameras can be used on drones. A while ago we tested a FLIR camera. Now we tested a Raven 640 from Xenics (http://www.xenics.com). The camera worked… Continue reading
ConservationDrones Flight School
The ConservationDrones team is planning to run occasional, centralized training workshops on the use of conservation drones — our very own flight school! Visit this page for more information, and to register your interest.
Mapping with a GoPro underneath the Iris
We were curious whether GoPro images could be used for a photomosaic using the Iris quadcopter and Pix4Dmaper. So we put it to the tests and you can see the results in… Continue reading
Conservation Drones featured in Conservation Biology Textbook
The latest edition of Primack’s Essentials of Conservation Biology is out. And it contains a feature on Conservation Drones! We are a step closer to our vision of making conservation drones a part… Continue reading
Latest conservation drone model achieves 100-km flight distance!
We are excited to announce that Keeyen Pang, ConservationDrones’ Director for Asia Operations, has just achieved a 100-km long and almost 2-hr endurance autonomous flight in a single mission. What this means is that conservation drones are now… Continue reading
Conservation drones for seabird monitoring
A research team led by Jarrod Hodgson and Rohan Clarke from Monash University is partnering with ConservationDrones to use UAVs for seabird monitoring. Jarrod and Rohan have just returned from a successful trip to… Continue reading
Raptor Reborn!
People often ask us about the lifespan of our drones. It really depends on many factors: the material and build of the drones, the terrain, how frequent it is used and so on.… Continue reading
PhD position for UAV research available at Liverpool John Moores University
A PhD position is available for UAV research at Liverpool John Moores University. This PhD will be co-supervised by Serge Wich from ConservationDrones and be closely linked to work the ConservaitonDrones team is doing.… Continue reading
FFI Conservation Drone in ULU MASEN
ConservationDrones.org is proud to help kick-start Fauna and Flora International‘s conservation drone program in Aceh.
6th Graders collaborate with ConservationDrones.org
This is somewhat of an unusual post for us. Maintaining ConservationDrones.org is a very time-consuming and exhausting task for the four of us who are taking time off our ‘real’ day jobs to… Continue reading
Behind-the-scenes look at a three-day drone building party
The four directors of ConservationDrones.org physically met for the first time the weekend before Christmas 2013 to build 10 conservation drones ‘Caipy’ for WWF. We spent two days to complete the builds and… Continue reading
ConservationDrones Test-Flies 3DRobotics’ Y6 Multicopter
In our most recent drone trip, the ConservationDrones team brought along with us a Y6 Multicopter to SE Asia (http://3DRobotics.com). And it was a good thing we did because we were having some… Continue reading
That time National Geographic followed ConservationDrones to the field
(Click here for the National Geographic article accompanying the video clip)
ConservationDrones.org is among 100 of the world’s most inspiring social tech ventures
ConservationDrones is proud to be among the Nominet Trust 100 of the world’s most inspiring social innovations using digital technology, together with other social ventures such as BitTorrent, Raspberry Pi, Arduino, Github, Ushahidi, Kickstarter,… Continue reading
Second anti-poaching video drone for Nepal
ConservationDrones.org‘s latest UAVs were recently deployed in Chitwan National Park in Nepal. We featured one of them, the Caipy video drone, in our last post (850 mm wingspan). Here is its big brother,… Continue reading
New Anti-Poaching Video Surveillance Drones for Nepal
ConservationDrones.org has been working closely with WWF Nepal for the past year or so, supported by the WWF AREAS Programme. One of our long-term goals is to reduce training time for new drone… Continue reading
Conservation Drones over Barro Colorado Island, Panama
Lian Pin Koh (ConservationDrones.org) and Brenden Duffy (FlightRiot.com) went on a trip to Barro Colorado Island, Panama, upon the invitation of Dr. Helene Muller-Landau from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. We brought two units of… Continue reading
Girls, boys and their toys!
Simon Wunderlin, the Technical Director of ConservationDrones.org, has been testing several new airframes for the next generation of our drones. This work is funded by WWF Netherlands/International. We are developing this new system… Continue reading
DEVELOPING A NEW CONSERVATION DRONE
ConservationDrones.org recently received a small grant from WWF to develop a rugged drone for use in difficult terrain and landing conditions. This is just a teaser of one of the airframes in testing… Continue reading
Conservation Drones used in fight against destruction of elephant habitats in Sumatra
Fast forward to 5:50 for part on drone use.
Vegetation Monitoring UAV – Greenland
Vegetation Monitoring UAV – Greenland from jtk on Vimeo. (Re-post from Jeff Kerby @ http://vimeo.com/69579388) To better understand arctic herbivore foraging ecology, we need information about the timing of plant growth (i.e. plant phenology)… Continue reading
Marine Conservation Drones
ConservationDrones.org went to Glover’s Reef in Belize upon the invitation of the Belize Fisheries Department and Wildlife Conservation Society. We explored the use of unmanned aerial vehicles for supporting enforcement of marine conservation… Continue reading
Conservation Drones in US Fish & Wildlife Service Webinar Series
Click here to go to the Conservation Science Webinar Series Archive.
Techpod Drone ready-to-fly to Belize!
Earlier this year, Wayne Garris from the Kickstarter project, HobbyUAV.com, donated two Techpods to ConservationDrones.org. I finally just had the time to build one up, equipped with an APM 2.5+ autopilot system. This… Continue reading
Eye in the sky quadcopter drone in Aras Napal, Sumatra, Indonesia
*Unedited raw video footage See: http://ConservationDrones.org
Drone footage of fire aftermath in peatlands of Tripa, Sumatra, Indonesia
*Unedited raw video footage This video was from a short drone flight last year (2012) in the peatlands of Tripa. It shows burnt areas cleared for new oil palm plantations. This drone mission… Continue reading
Drone flight over orangutan re-introduction site in Jantho, Aceh
*Unedited raw video footage Drone operator: Graham Usher from Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme Drone: Raptor with APM Read about the efforts of the SOCP at re-introducing orangutans: http://www.orangutan.com/from-the-forest-jantho-aceh-besar-sumatra-2011/
Droning in Cambodia: Training Birdlife, ELIE, CI & WCS
Simon Wunderli from ResearchDrones and Serge Wich from ConservationDrones were in Cambodia in April 2013 for BirdLife, Elephants Livelihood Environment Initiative (ELIE), Conservation International (CI) and Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). Featuring the ResearchDrones… Continue reading
3D Model of Oil Palm Landscape created with Drone Imagery
3D model and fly-through created by Serge Wich using PIX4D and ESRI 3D ArcScene. Drone Imagery from Keeyen Pang. This is a 3D model animation of an oil palm mosaic in Sabah. A… Continue reading
Tiger Drone Test Flight Video
Airframe: Finwing Universeye Penguin Autopilot: APM 2.5+ with Power module GPS: 3DR LEA 6 Telemetry: 3DR 915 Mhz Motor: Finwing stock M2220 1350kv Propeller: Master Airscrew 3-bladed 9 x 7 Pusher ESC: Finwing… Continue reading
Princeton Tiger Drone!
Lian Pin has just moved to New Jersey to begin his year-long sabbatical at Princeton University, his alma mater. He has just finished building the first Conservation Drone in America, which is called… Continue reading
Oil Palm Landscape Mapped by Drone
Keeyen (our Asia team member) used his Skywalker 1900 equipped with an APM 2 and Canon S100 to map an oil palm estate owned by a friend. Keeyen’s Skywalker was able to track… Continue reading
A Story About Madagascar From Aboard A Drone
This is a 15-minute short film about Zuzana’s journey across parts of Madagascar with a drone, shining a spotlight on environmental and livelihood issues on the red island. It is a fascinating and… Continue reading
Madagascar Drone Missions
Madagascar Team Leader and Drone operator: Zuzana Burivalova (PhD candidate) Applied Ecology & Conservation Lab, ETH Zurich With support from: Dr Martin Bauert, ZOO Zurich Wildlife Conservation Society Madagascar Madagascar National Parks Tom… Continue reading