Every so often, you may notice a rare bird perched on a tree outside your home or witness a creature you are unable to identify on the walk home from work. Researchers, interested in learning more about unique animal species, have now managed to create the world-first radio-tracking drone. The one-of-a-kind device, designed to hover, will locate wildlife in inaccessible areas in order to gain insights about some of the world’s most mysterious species.
World’s First Radio-Tracking Drone Study
In making this discovery, scientists used the drones to follow radio-tagged bettongs (also known as rat-kangaroos), which are indigenous to the Australian rainforest. They are particularly difficult to track on the ground, which make them ideal for the study. The experiment was conducted at the Mulligan’s Flat woodland sanctuary in Canberra, Australia.
The study was conferred at the 2015 Robotics: Science and Systems Conference in Rome, Italy. Debbie Saunders, a wildlife ecologist and the lead researcher for this experiment, is excited at the prospects of this technology. To date, the team has completed more than 150 test flights, over the course of two and a half years, which have helped to map the various locations of animals with radio tags. Now, the drone, after some fine tuning, is ready to change the way ecologists conduct research around the world.
The Result Of the Radio-Tracking Drone
Saunders developed the idea roughly eight years ago in an effort to track small dynamic migratory birds. Over the last two and a half years, the new system has been tested with Robert Fitch and his team at the ACFR (Australian Centre for Field Robotics). According to a publicly released statement from the Australian National University, “The robot consists of an off-the-shelf drone or unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The custom-built miniature receiver and antenna provide real-time information on radio-tracked wildlife, which are mapped live on a laptop.”
The radio-tracking system, though complex, weighs as little as one gram. Efficient animal tracking is generally a difficult process that requires a lot of manual labor. However, so far, this experiment has granted pleasing and exciting results for scientists. Utilizing the technology, Saunders expects that researchers will be able to learn more about the world’s smallest species who tend to move in dynamic, and often unpredictable patterns.
