scholarly journals Thermal Imaging of Beach-Nesting Bird Habitat with Unmanned Aerial Vehicles: Considerations for Reducing Disturbance and Enhanced Image Accuracy

Drones ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 12
Author(s):  
Kerry L. Mapes ◽  
Narcisa G. Pricope ◽  
J. Britton Baxley ◽  
Lauren E. Schaale ◽  
Raymond M. Danner
Keyword(s):  
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles ◽  
Thermal Imaging ◽  
Habitat Restoration ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Breeding Habitat ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Thermal Indices ◽  
Ground Control Points ◽  
Aerial Vehicles ◽  
Bird Habitat

Knowledge of temperature variation within and across beach-nesting bird habitat, and how such variation may affect the nesting success and survival of these species, is currently lacking. This type of data is furthermore needed to refine predictions of population changes due to climate change, identify important breeding habitat, and guide habitat restoration efforts. Thermal imagery collected with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) provides a potential approach to fill current knowledge gaps and accomplish these goals. Our research outlines a novel methodology for collecting and implementing active thermal ground control points (GCPs) and assess the accuracy of the resulting imagery using an off-the-shelf commercial fixed-wing UAV that allows for the reconstruction of thermal landscapes at high spatial, temporal, and radiometric resolutions. Additionally, we observed and documented the behavioral responses of beach-nesting birds to UAV flights and modifications made to flight plans or the physical appearance of the UAV to minimize disturbance. We found strong evidence that flying on cloudless days and using sky-blue camouflage greatly reduced disturbance to nesting birds. The incorporation of the novel active thermal GCPs into the processing workflow increased image spatial accuracy an average of 12 m horizontally (mean root mean square error of checkpoints in imagery with and without GCPs was 0.59 m and 23.75 m, respectively). The final thermal indices generated had a ground sampling distance of 25.10 cm and a thermal accuracy of less than 1 °C. This practical approach to collecting highly accurate thermal data for beach-nesting bird habitat while avoiding disturbance is a crucial step towards the continued monitoring and modeling of beach-nesting birds and their habitat.

scholarly journals UAV PHOTOGRAMMETRY IMPLEMENTATION TO ENHANCE LAND SURVEYING, COMPARISONS AND POSSIBILITIES

2016 ◽  
Vol XLII-2/W2 ◽  
pp. 107-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. El Meouche ◽  
I. Hijazi ◽  
P. A. Poncet ◽  
M. Abunemeh ◽  
M. Rezoug
Keyword(s):  
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles ◽  
3D Modeling ◽  
Maximum Error ◽  
Ground Control ◽  
Control Points ◽  
Ground Control Points ◽  
Area Of Interest ◽  
Aerial Vehicles ◽  
Land Surveying ◽  
Archeological Site

The use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) for surveying is now widespread and operational for several applications – quarry monitoring, archeological site surveys, forest management and 3D modeling for buildings, for instance. UAV is increasingly used by land surveyors especially for those kinds of projects. It is still ambiguous whether UAV can be applicable for smaller sites and property division. Therefore, the objective of this research is to extract a vectorized plan utilizing a UAV for a small site and investigate the possibility of an official land surveyor exploiting and certificating it. To do that, two plans were created, one using a UAV and another utilizing classical land surveyor instruments (Total Station). A comparison was conducted between the two plans to evaluate the accuracy of the UAV technique compared to the classical one. Moreover, other parameters were also considered such as execution time and the surface covered. The main problems associated with using a UAV are the level of precision and the visualization of the whole area. The results indicated that the precision is quite satisfactory with a maximum error of 1.0 cm on ground control points, and 4 cm for the rest of the model. On the other hand, the results showed that it is not possible to represent the whole area of interest utilizing a UAV, due to vegetation.

scholarly journals A UAV-Based Thermal-Imaging Approach for the Monitoring of Urban Landfills

Inventions ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 55
Author(s):  
Giovanni Tanda ◽  
Marco Balsi ◽  
Paolo Fallavollita ◽  
Valter Chiarabini
Keyword(s):  
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles ◽  
Thermal Imaging ◽  
Preliminary Evaluation ◽  
Production Potential ◽  
Thermal Anomalies ◽  
Aerial Vehicles ◽  
Innovative Method ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
Imaging Approach ◽  
Methane Production Potential

The monitoring of waste disposal sites is important in order to minimize leakages of biogas, produced by anaerobic digestion and potentially explosive and detrimental to the environment. In this research, thermal imaging from unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) has been proposed as a diagnostic tool to monitor urban landfills. Since the anaerobic decomposition produces heat along with biogas, thermal anomalies recorded over the soil are likely to be associated with local biogas escaping from the landfill terrain and leaving a local thermal print. A simple and novel approach, based only on the processing of thermal maps gathered by the remote sensing surveys, has been proposed for the estimation of the fugitive methane emissions from landfills. Two case studies, concerning two Italian landfills, have been presented. For one of them (Mount Scarpino, Genoa), significant thermal anomalies were identified during several UAV flights and the relevant thermal images processed to obtain a rough estimation of the associated methane leakages. For the second landfill (Scala Erre, Sassari), the thermal map did not reveal any anomaly attributable to local biogas emission. Despite some limitations outlined in the paper, the present approach is proposed as an innovative method to identify significant biogas leakages from an urban landfill and to provide a preliminary evaluation of the methane production potential.

scholarly journals Applications of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles to Survey Mesocarnivores

Drones ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacob Bushaw ◽  
Kevin Ringelman ◽  
Frank Rohwer
Keyword(s):  
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles ◽  
Thermal Imaging ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Camera Traps ◽  
Population Census ◽  
Prairie Pothole ◽  
Population Surveys ◽  
Yield Data ◽  
Point Count ◽  
Aerial Vehicles

With the widespread extirpation of top predators over the past two centuries, mesocarnivores play an increasingly important role in structuring terrestrial trophic webs. However, mesocarnivores are difficult to survey at a population level because their widely spaced territories and nocturnal behavior result in low detection probability. Existing field survey techniques such as track plates and motion-sensitive camera traps are time-consuming and expensive, and yet still yield data prone to systematic errors. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have recently emerged as a new tool for conducting population surveys on a wide variety of wildlife, eclipsing the efficiency and even accuracy of traditional methods. We used a UAV equipped with a thermal imaging camera to conduct nighttime mesocarnivore surveys in the prairie pothole region of southern Manitoba, Canada. This was part of a much larger ecological study evaluating how lethal removal of mesocarnivores affects duck nest success. Here, our objective was to describe methods and equipment that were successful in detecting mesocarnivores. We used a modified point-count survey from six waypoints that surveyed a spatial extent of 29.5 ha. We conducted a total of 200 flights over 53 survey nights during which we detected 32 mesocarnivores of eight different species. Given the large home ranges of mesocarnivores relative to the spatial and temporal scale of our spot sampling approach, results of these types of point-count surveys should be considered estimates of minimum abundance and not a population census. However, more frequent sampling and advanced statistics could be used to formally estimate population occupancy and abundance. UAV-mounted thermal imaging cameras appear to be an effective tool for conducting nocturnal population surveys on mesocarnivores at a moderate spatial scale.

Application of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and Thermal Imaging Cameras to Conduct Duck Brood Surveys

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacob D. Bushaw ◽  
Catrina V. Terry ◽  
Kevin M. Ringelman ◽  
Michael K. Johnson ◽  
Kaylan M. Kemink ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles ◽  
Thermal Imaging ◽  
Aerial Vehicles ◽  
Brood Surveys

scholarly journals Analysis of the Possibility of Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and Thermovision for the Stocktaking of Big Game

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 317-329
Author(s):  
Arkadiusz Boczkowski ◽  
Artur Kuboszek ◽  
Adam Mańka ◽  
Karolina Dutkiewicz ◽  
Wiktoria Gramatyka ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles ◽  
Thermal Imaging ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Aerial Vehicles ◽  
University Of Technology ◽  
Imaging Camera ◽  
Thermal Cameras ◽  
Wave Range ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Infrared Wave

Abstract Classic methods of stocktaking big game living in a given area have many disadvantages. The main result is the need to ensure appropriate terrain and weather conditions and also require the involvement of a large number of people, so-called observers. The development of technology makes it possible to create new stocktaking methods that will not have as many of the above-mentioned disadvantages, while reducing the cost of stocktaking and increasing its accuracy. This paper presents an analysis of the possibility of using unmanned aerial vehicles, so-called drones, in combination with the observation of game in the infrared wave range with the use of a thermal imaging camera. The paper presents the concept of such a solution, which will of course be further developed. Raids are planned with the use of thermal cameras over areas according to strictly defined transects and subjecting the obtained images to analysis, also with the use of artificial intelligence methods. This article was written as part of the PBL project carried out by a group of students from the Silesian University of Technology under the supervision of dr inż. Arkadiusz Boczkowski.

scholarly journals Design and Dynamics of Kinetic Launcher for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 2949
Author(s):  
Mirosław Kondratiuk ◽  
Leszek Ambroziak
Keyword(s):  
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles ◽  
Electrical Energy ◽  
Practical Implementation ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Electromagnetic Launchers ◽  
Aerial Vehicles ◽  
Start Up ◽  
Motion Characteristics ◽  
Novel Concept ◽  
Operator Safety

Assisting in the starting procedure of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) is one of many very important areas of modern aviation research. Supported start-up saves fuel or electrical energy, increases operator safety and level of autonomy, extends the application area, and, in some applications, even enables the operator to shape the motion characteristics of the initial phase of a UAV’s flight. Currently used solutions, depending on an aircraft’s class, are based on the utilization of rubber, pneumatic or electromagnetic launchers. All of these launchers are used for the medium class of UAVs and all of them use the potential energy previously stored in stretched rubber, compressed air or electrical voltage. In this paper, authors propose the novel concept of a launcher powered through kinetic energy stored in a rotary wheel driven by an electric motor. Using the transmission systems of the drive and the controlled clutch and an electromagnetic brake, it is possible to precisely control the speed and acceleration of the launched object. Within the paper, the authors present and discuss the applied equations of dynamics, the results of a simulation that was carried out using the MATLAB/Simulink software and a conceptual CAD model of preliminary engineering solutions for the kinetic UAV launcher. The work is summarized in the conclusions section, which details the practical implementation of the device.

scholarly journals Improving the efficiency and accuracy of evaluating Aridland riparian habitat restoration using unmanned aerial vehicles

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martha Gómez‐Sapiens ◽  
Karen J. Schlatter ◽  
Ángela Meléndez ◽  
Deus Hernández‐López ◽  
Helen Salazar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles ◽  
Habitat Restoration ◽  
Riparian Habitat ◽  
Aerial Vehicles
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