Ecosphere receives Remotely Piloted Aircraft Operator’s Certificate (ReOC): Examples of interesting drone applications in environmental science
Anything that holds its own weight in the atmosphere in Australia is regulated by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA). Australia's unique global position means that Australia's Air Navigation Service Provider, Airservices Australia, manages the largest airspace in the world covering 53 million km2. The airspace is managed in accordance with rigorous Regulations, standards and approval processes which apply to commercial drone operations.
Ecosphere Science & Technology is certified to fly drones commercially in Australia through a Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) Operators Certificate (ReOC) issued by CASA. The business also holds the certifications of Remote Pilot Licence (RePL), Chief Pilot functions and an Aeronautical Radio Operators Certificate (AROC). The Operation Manuals and procedures have been developed to meet the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations (CASR) Part 101 requirements for unmanned aircraft and rockets.
Drones represent a rapid transformation for opportunities in environmental monitoring, management, assessment and research. With rapid developments in sensor technologies and improvements in flexibility and autonomy compared to other fixed monitoring methods, drones can minimise safety risks, reduce program costs, improve efficiency while providing significant data insights and analysis.
Two of the air quality monitoring drone projects I have been involved in have been a real highlight for me during my career and I am excited about opportunities in this space. There are so many great sparks of innovation across the industry, I have provided some links below.
As is typical in science and aviation, acronyms are overused. The colloquial term of drones is used here but could be interchangeable for Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA), Remotely Piloted Vehicle (RPV), Remotely Operated Aircraft (ROA), multi-copter and more.
Environmental change surveying
With GPS accuracy down to millimetre resolution in some cases, drones have flourished as a tool in mapping, surveying and inspections. Aircraft allow a high degree of autonomy compared to satellites or ground-based tools and techniques. There are seemingly endless great advances in this space, a great example is monitoring health of the Great Barrier Reef to improve response to coral bleaching using artificial intelligence (AI) and hyperspectral imaging cameras: https://research.qut.edu.au/reefresearch/our-research/monitoring-reef-health-with-drones/
Land management, rapid reforestation and nature-based carbon credits
It is clear the future of farming involves drones, where use is becoming common for inspections, weed spraying, watering and seeding. With major concerns around biodiversity loss from land clearing, drones represent a rapid solution for reforestation compared to ground-based seeding while also employed to analyse plant species and coverage using AI tools. This space is particularly topical in Australia with the review of nature-based carbon credits and questions about integrity of issued Australian Carbon Credit Unit (ACCUs) under the Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF). Great example of seed detection classification in ecological recovery from WA here: https://www.mdpi.com/2504-446X/3/3/53
Stockpile volume estimation
Another well-established application relevant to contaminated land and mining is estimation of stockpile volumes from drones. This technology and associated software/AI can speed-up calculation processes for remediation projects, which also improving estimation for hard-to-access locations and improving the safety of field staff. Topical in sustainability and circularity discussions for infrastructure projects in Australia, see this analysis of estimating fly ash stockpiles for reuse using drones: https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/23/3/1242
Wildlife tracking and combating biodiversity loss
Drones represent a less invasive method of tracking wildlife from above, compared to ground-based survey and tracking techniques. Heat sensing technologies are readily available for thermal mapping, and automated detection techniques speeds up the processing. Koala mapping in Queensland is a great example: https://eprints.qut.edu.au/231168/
Monitoring and advanced warning for extreme weather events
Drones can be used in storm tracking and in place of radiosondes for meteorological monitoring, improving the control, efficiency and sensitivity of measurements. With the expectation of increasing intensity and frequency of storms with a changing climate, every advance and efficiency improvement in this space will save lives through advanced warning and preparation. The NASA program example is here: https://technology.nasa.gov/patent/LAR-TOPS-281
Bushfire and disaster management
Improvements in hot spot detection both during fire events and at post-fire suppression monitoring with drones can improve the speed of extinguishing the fire, provide earlier detection particularly in areas of inaccessible and flat terrain, improve search and rescue functions and improve safety for firefighters. A good summary on drones supporting disaster management for floods, earthquakes, nuclear accidents, hazardous materials and fires: https://www.scirp.org/html/60553_60553.htm
DNA and biological compound monitoring
One of my favourite research names - Snotbot - is a modified consumer drone that flies through whale blow emissions to collect DNA, bateria, virus and other toxins from the whales system. This allows data to be collected well away from whales, so as not to disrupt them. A very enjoyable article about the project here: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/8913832
Remote water quality monitoring
Monitoring surface water using drones allows access to hard-to-access areas of sites, and allows an option for sampling various parts of water bodies without having the access the water by boat. Sydney Water currently has a program using a drone mounted peristaltic pump: https://www.awa.asn.au/resources/latest-news/business/assets-and-operations/drone-technology-monitor-sydneys-water-cleanliness
Machine learning/AI integration
Combining drone sensing technologies with deep learning techniques and machine learning models rapidly expands the potential to automate and increase efficiencies with large datasets from drones. The Galago example, developed by my talented ex-colleagues at Ramboll, is a great example of one of these full solutions: https://www.ramboll.com/en-apac/galago
Low emission transport
Current drone technology is limited by battery depletion rates, where a 20 - 30 minute flight time is typical depending on drone type and payload. There are promising developments in hydrogen fuel cell technology, which would improve flight time and speed. Even with current LiPo battery technologies, drones represent a low carbon option for transport and delivery applications. Google is currently testing their Wing service in Australia, which could represent a significant improvement for small delivery applications in the near future: https://wing.com/
Air quality and greenhouse gas emissions monitoring
I have been involved in a number of programs in air quality monitoring using drones, which has been a highlight for me. I am hopeful this can be published at some stage. Stay tuned.
Get in touch
We can provide assessment and advice for specific locations against current relevant aviation law and restrictions. We are currently accredited for multi-copter operations <25kg within Visual Line of Sight (VLOS), but can apply for approvals to extend these limits if required for the application. As a company that specialises in sensing technologies for environmental monitoring applications we can assess and validate the benefits and limitations of different techniques. Lets chat about ideas and feasibility.
