Speeding over Arctic sea ice, small remote-controlled aircraft snag video footage and high-definition shots of endangered Steller Sea Lions in their natural habitat.
Gregory Walker, the manager of the unmanned aircraft applications programme at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute, has been putting UAS to good use, exploring their potential on the Alaskan Frontier. “The more you show the capability of these things, the more people come up with needs for them,” Walker said. He tests UAS at the Poker Flat Research Range outside of Fairbanks, in addition to flights in the field.
Researchers launched their UAS in March 2012 off a ship the size of a fishing vessel to research Steller Sea Lion communities. Where traditional flyovers would take pilots and biologists far out over the open waters of the Bering Sea into potentially harsh weather conditions, these test flights sent small UAS to many seal gathering places in the western Aleutian Islands. The ability to take short flights during pockets of clear weather and keep personnel safe onboard the ship highlights the benefits of UAS use in the dangerous and unpredictable weather of the Arctic. The machines are even able to fly despite weather conditions that would ground manned aircraft.
Besides the small copter-like Aeryon Scout, the team used an AreoVironment Puma AE, a small plane with a 10 foot wingspan that can fly for two hours. The two aircraft used video, infrared, and photo to capture information from 54 different sea lion sites. Most were locations where sea lions return again and again in order to socialize and rest on land (or ice) called haul-out sites. Barely audible at 70 feet, the very quiet UAS were able to film the sea lions from closer altitudes than a plane without scaring them into the water (as large and loud manned planes generally do).
The UAS are operated via an electronic interface, and the pilot does not need to see them to fly them- he can rely on their camera feeds- making them extremely useful for wildlife surveying.
Alaska is investing in the emerging field of Unmanned Aircraft, because they can serve many purposes in the Arctic and beyond. Gregory Walker notes that by understanding the potential and the limitations of current UAS technology we can find people the right tools to solve many of their problems.
Source:Frontier Scientist