Research partners use UAVs for wildlife conservation

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  • U.S. Air Force Academy Public Affairs
U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. --  Air Force Academy researchers are helping conservationists protect endangered species by tracking their numbers with Unmanned Aerial Vehicles.

The Academy Center for UAS Research is using technology developed at the Academy that allows drones to fly in concert with each other to track animals in their natural environment.

Academy researchers are collaborating with WSI Unmanned Systems, a local startup seeking to provide innovative solutions for land managers for endangered species.

"The goal is to jointly develop a UAS-based system to reduce wildlife poaching and provide a means for preventing rustling of domestic animals," said Dr. George York, director of the Academy Center for UAS Research. "The company plans to commercially employ the UAS in a fee-for-service arrangement with national parks and private organizations who wish to protect wildlife and livestock populations."

WSI chose to partner with the Academy because of its groundbreaking research.

"The Academy has gone farther with UAS research than other universities or businesses," said Gene Bem, owner of WSI. "We can build on that research, and test it in the Academy's airspace. We can start tracking deer, elk, even bears, inside the Academy's airspace."

The first step in the research project is integrating UAVs into the wildlife conservation scenario, York said. The UAVs will act cooperatively, using manual and autopilot control and a ground-station. The Academy researchers will also develop ground-based sensors and communications links.

"It's a new domain for the Academy," York said. "And we believe it will enrich cadet opportunities for research, education and training."

The plan is to take a cooperating group of UAVs and have them fly search patterns based on past animal behaviors rather than the typical ladder patterns that manned aircraft use to track wildlife. That process, using spotters in small airplanes, is time consuming and expensive. UAVs save both time and money.

Bem says that wildlife conservationists will benefit because the research here could not only provide more accurate animal counts for endangered species, but could also protect them from human incursions into their habitat.

"If we know exactly where these endangered animals are living, it provides a stronger argument against developing their habitat," he said. "That's a tremendous benefit for wildlife."