In recent years, drone technologies have been explored for a range of applications in conservation including (but not limited to) mapping, biodiversity inventories, antipoaching patrols, wildlife tracking, and fire monitoring. The rise of customizable, open-source drones like those of ArduPilot and OpenROV hold promise for more effective conservation applications, and combined with other monitoring sensors and devices, they are capable of collecting high-resolution data quickly, noninvasively, and at relatively low cost.
However, challenges remain in putting these tools to use. A recent paper reviewing 256 conservation drone projects highlighted some of these major obstacles, ranging from unintended social and ecological consequences of drone operations to still prohibitive costs, both in terms of hardware and in terms of storing and processing large volumes of data. The longstanding challenge of power/battery life remains as well.
If you're considering trying out drones for yourself, and want to explore the possibilities and understand the major conversations happening around this technology, check out these beginner's resources and conversations from across the WILDLABS platform:
Three Resources for Beginners:
- Conservation Technology User Guidelines Issue 5: Drones, World Wildlife Fund | Drones, best practices, ethics, regulations, case studies
- WILDLABS Virtual Meetup Recording: Drones, Craig Elder, Dr. Claire Burke, and Gabriel Levin | Drones, thermal camera, wildlife crime, ML, biologging
- New Paper: Drones and Bornean Orangutan Distribution, Sol Milne | Drones, data analysis, citizen science, community science, primates
Three Forum Threads for Beginners:
- Curious about radio-tracking with drones? | Wildlife Drones, Biologging (5 replies)
- Drones for GIS Best practice Document | Adrian Hughes, Drones (10 replies)
- WWF Conservation Technology Series: Drones in Conservation | Aurélie Shapiro, Drones (7 replies)
Three Tutorials for Beginners:
- How do I use a drone to capture radio-tracking data? | Debbie Saunders, Tech Tutors
- How do I choose the right drone for my conservation goals? | Shashank Srinivasan, Tech Tutors
- How do I strategically allocate drones for conservation? | Elizabeth Bondi, Tech Tutors
Want to know more about using drones, and learn from experts in the WILDLABS community? Make sure you join the conversation in our Drones group!
*Header photo: Parker Levinson, Point Blue Conservation Science
No showcases have been added to this group yet.
I am a budding engineer doing Electrical and Telecommunications Engineering and I am passionate about innovation and technology and how I can use it to make an impact in society.
- 0 Resources
- 0 Discussions
- 5 Groups
- 0 Resources
- 0 Discussions
- 5 Groups
M.A.P Scientific Services
Co-founder and Director of M.A.P Scientific Services, South Africa
- 0 Resources
- 0 Discussions
- 8 Groups
- 1 Resources
- 5 Discussions
- 4 Groups
- @Gody
- | He
Godfrey Nyangaresi, a dedicated Protection Manager with 12+ years of wildlife conservation experience. Skilled in technologies, administration, and law enforcement, he leads protection efforts at STEP, ensuring the sustainable conservation of elephants in southern Tanzania.
- 0 Resources
- 3 Discussions
- 17 Groups
- 0 Resources
- 0 Discussions
- 6 Groups
- @dilip_singh556
- | Him
On the way to Bridge technology and Nature.
- 0 Resources
- 2 Discussions
- 10 Groups
- 0 Resources
- 14 Discussions
- 3 Groups
Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute (TAWIRI)
Conservation biologist based in Tanzania
- 0 Resources
- 2 Discussions
- 2 Groups
- 0 Resources
- 0 Discussions
- 15 Groups
- 0 Resources
- 0 Discussions
- 8 Groups
Early career, assistance in biologging projects with owls and eagles
- 0 Resources
- 0 Discussions
- 5 Groups
Article
Kākāpō Dreaming: A Wildlife Drones Adventure
Wildlife Drones
What is it like to track endangered species using drones? In this blog post from Wildlife Drones, Dr. Debbie Saunders travels to New Zealand to track the Kākāpō, an extemely rare and elusive bird of which approximately...
8 July 2020
Article
Connecting to MBARI's Deep-Sea Instruments
Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI)
The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute's MARS ocean observatory may someday make conducting deep-sea research more accessible and affordable thanks to Deep-Sea Connect, their new wireless system engineered to ...
31 March 2020
Community Announcement
WILDLABS Community Call Recording: Rainforest X-PRIZE
WILDLABS Admin
Our second WILDLABS Community Call took place on April 1st to continue the discussion started by Ben Tregenna in our Data Science group, in which he suggested the idea of submitting a collaborative entry to the X-Prize...
30 March 2020
Article
#Tech4Wildlife 2020 Photo Challenge In Review
WILDLABS Team
2020 marked our fifth year holding our annual #Tech4Wildlife Photo Challenge, and our community made it a milestone to remember. Conservationists took to Twitter last week to share their best high-tech snapshots from...
4 March 2020
Funding
The 2020 Tusk Awards are now accepting nominations of outstanding individuals who have made a significant impact on conservation in Africa. These nominations offer the rare and exciting opportunity to honor your peers...
3 March 2020
Article
How do you weigh a live whale?
WILDLABS Team
How do we actually know a whale weighs 40 tonnes? After all, we can’t exactly capture an animal the size of a bus and simply put it on a scale. Fredrik Christiansen explains their new, non-invasive way of weighing...
9 October 2019
Article
From the Field: Melissa Schiele
WILDLABS Admin
In this From the Field interview, we talk to Melissa Schiele, a tech whiz, marine ecologist, and conservationist at the Zoological Society of London. She shares with us about her work helping to develop the first-ever...
10 June 2019
Article
Canopy height mapping with drones
Tom Swinfield
Tom Swinfield and colleagues at the Forest Ecology and Conservation Group have assessed the quality of three dimensional forest models produced from drone surveys, and conclude that concerns about their quality for...
31 May 2019
Article
In this blog, Laure Joanny adds her perspectives to an ongoing discussion that we've been seeing in the community about conservation tech and it's relationship to e-waste. How do we tackle the challenge of battery waste...
3 May 2019
Article
#Tech4Wildlife Photo Challenge: Our Favourites from 2019
WILDLABS Team
Happy World Wildlife Day! To celebrate, this week we've asked our community to share photos showing how they are using tech in the field or the lab, using the #Tech4Wildlife hashtag.
3 March 2019
Article
Using Swiss AI and Drones to Count African Wildlife
WILDLABS Team
After a promising first run in Namibia, a Swiss project could aid savanna conservation using drones and automatic image analysis.
18 February 2019
Article
Getting up close and personal with Antarctica's orcas
WILDLABS Team
In this case study, Science Reporter Jamie Morton tells the story of how Kiwi scientists are teaming up with a local underwater robotics company to gain world-first insights into the lives of whales in Antarctica.
4 February 2019
September 2025
event
Louisa Richmond-Coggan
March 2026
February 2023
January 2023
33 Products
Recently updated products
| Description | Activity | Replies | Groups | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| These two fully funded PhD positions may be of interest to the community: Primate Conservation And UAV Technology:... |
|
Drones | 9 years 6 months ago | |
| DJI and Ford are teaming up for a contest open to the public to pioneer the development of a drone that is able to be launched and then... |
|
Drones | 9 years 7 months ago | |
| True, but ideal the navigation system would need to be more interactive to be able to respond to the elephant movements in real-time. |
|
Drones | 9 years 8 months ago |
