Research and study has been a lot easier with the integration of drones into the process. Checking radiation levels for example is easier with drones. This method also reduces the risk of any exposure to human workers. The process simply requires a specialized drone to go into the area and collect the data. This is also the case for spotting wildlife that is not easily located from the ground. A drone from the sky can spot animal movement far easier compared to doing things on foot. From a safety, efficiency, and even cost-effectiveness, drones clearly outclass its predecessors. Forget about accidents and work-related injuries for personnel. This is the future.
Florida’s Eye in the Sky:
In Palm Beach State College, drones are being put to a similar use. With the use of drone technology, the students plan on monitoring coral reefs, as well as ecological points in Florida in general.
The drone they are using is a Phantom 4Pro. It is worth around $1500, with accessories including the high definition camera, batteries, etc. costing another $700. This drone has an amazing camera capable of taking photos and videos at high resolution. Its video recording capabilities reach 4k resolutions and 60 FPS. It has a flight time of 30 minutes before running out of fuel. With this drone in the students’ arsenal, they can have an infinitely better experience surveying the environment.
The students have mentioned that they have been using Google Earth images for their geographical information. This however, is not very reliable. The most recent images taken on Google Earth dates at least 2 years ago. This would give the students an outdated and inaccurate data. A drone flying while capturing images in real-time would keep the information as accurate as possible.
Another perk of using the drone is the high definition camera’s zoom function. Of course, a better camera means a better zoom quality result. The students plan on using the camera to its fullest when researching on the different wildlife areas.
