Drones for Good – Duke Marine Lab Uses Drones for Data Collection

Welcome to the Ambient Flight “Drones for Good” section.  Each week we will highlight a news item featuring drones doing something good, in an effort to counterbalance the negativity and paranoia drones are receiving in the press and in public opinion.

This article in the Duke Chronicle highlights the use of drones for marine lab studies in the recently opened Marine Conservation Ecology Unmanned Systems Facility.

“We’re interested in using these systems (drones) to go out and count animals, to study coastal habitats and obtain coastal imagery, to see how coastlines might be eroding, as well as for emergency response to maritime emergencies.” ~David Johnston – drone facility’s executive director and assistant professor of the practice of marine conservation ecology at The Nicholas School of the Environment.

The article (please read it) continues on saying the use of drones is much safer than the helicopters they used to use for the same research and that drones open up areas of research previously not accessible.  Additionally, “drones offer access to lower altitudes and tighter spaces and are particularly useful when studying endangered species, because loud planes or helicopters risk altering the animals’ behavior.”

This is great news and I can’t wait to see what findings and new information come as a result of this use of drones for good.