Summary
The aim of WildDrone is to push wildlife conservation practices into the 21st century. The need for effective, cost-efficient conservation practices are greater than ever as we currently face the greatest loss of global biodiversity in history. Present conservation practices are typically very labour intensive, costly, and time-consuming. Collected data is often inaccurate or incomplete. However, recent advances in drone technology have shown that this technology has great potential as a practical tool for conservationists and that it could potentially revolutionize our efforts in nature conservation. Nevertheless, drone technology is still a developing field and many obstacles stand in the way of us harvesting the benefits of this emerging technology. To fully achieve its promising potential in this new domain we will need to invent more robust and predictable robotic technologies, including effective
and automated means of gathering and interpreting ecological and behavioural data. WildDrone will address these challenges by joining the scientific areas of aerial robotics, computer vision, and wildlife ecology. The network proposes to develop new autonomous drone technology, expand current computer vision capabilities, and combine these advances to create practical tools for visual inspection and monitoring of wildlife populations. This drone-based inspection will provide conservationists with crucial knowledge of animal health, behaviour, and numbers. These challenges will be solved by 13 PhDs (three self-funded). An interdisciplinary research training programme has been designed to educate a new generation of PhDs and provide them with a unique skill set enabling them to tackle the great challenges we must solve collectively, if we are to reverse the decline of global biodiversity. This program will raise the level of excellence in doctoral programs and simultaneously enhance the career perspectives of the PhDs in both academia and industry.
and automated means of gathering and interpreting ecological and behavioural data. WildDrone will address these challenges by joining the scientific areas of aerial robotics, computer vision, and wildlife ecology. The network proposes to develop new autonomous drone technology, expand current computer vision capabilities, and combine these advances to create practical tools for visual inspection and monitoring of wildlife populations. This drone-based inspection will provide conservationists with crucial knowledge of animal health, behaviour, and numbers. These challenges will be solved by 13 PhDs (three self-funded). An interdisciplinary research training programme has been designed to educate a new generation of PhDs and provide them with a unique skill set enabling them to tackle the great challenges we must solve collectively, if we are to reverse the decline of global biodiversity. This program will raise the level of excellence in doctoral programs and simultaneously enhance the career perspectives of the PhDs in both academia and industry.
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More information & hyperlinks
| Web resources: | https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101071224 |
| Start date: | 01-01-2023 |
| End date: | 31-12-2026 |
| Total budget - Public funding: | - 2 777 853,00 Euro |
Cordis data
Original description
The aim of WildDrone is to push wildlife conservation practices into the 21st century. The need for effective, cost-efficient conservation practices are greater than ever as we currently face the greatest loss of global biodiversity in history. Present conservation practices are typically very labour intensive, costly, and time-consuming. Collected data is often inaccurate or incomplete. However, recent advances in drone technology have shown that this technology has great potential as a practical tool for conservationists and that it could potentially revolutionize our efforts in nature conservation. Nevertheless, drone technology is still a developing field and many obstacles stand in the way of us harvesting the benefits of this emerging technology. To fully achieve its promising potential in this new domain we will need to invent more robust and predictable robotic technologies, including effectiveand automated means of gathering and interpreting ecological and behavioural data. WildDrone will address these challenges by joining the scientific areas of aerial robotics, computer vision, and wildlife ecology. The network proposes to develop new autonomous drone technology, expand current computer vision capabilities, and combine these advances to create practical tools for visual inspection and monitoring of wildlife populations. This drone-based inspection will provide conservationists with crucial knowledge of animal health, behaviour, and numbers. These challenges will be solved by 13 PhDs (three self-funded). An interdisciplinary research training programme has been designed to educate a new generation of PhDs and provide them with a unique skill set enabling them to tackle the great challenges we must solve collectively, if we are to reverse the decline of global biodiversity. This program will raise the level of excellence in doctoral programs and simultaneously enhance the career perspectives of the PhDs in both academia and industry.
Status
SIGNEDCall topic
HORIZON-MSCA-2021-DN-01-01Update Date
09-02-2023
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Geographical location(s)
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Organisations
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| University of Southern Denmark (Coördinator)
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| AVY BV
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| BRITISH BROADCASTING CORPORATION
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| Bristol, Clifton and West of England Zoological Society Limited
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| ECOLE POLYTECHNIQUE FEDERALE DE LAUSANNE (EPFL)
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| FONDAZIONE BRUNO KESSLER
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| KBR Wyle Services, LLC
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| KENYATTA UNIVERSITY
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| Kuzikus African Safaris PTY LTD
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| LANDBRUG & FODEVARER F.M.B.A.
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| MAX PLANCK GESELLSCHAFT ZUR FOERDERUNG DER WISSENSCHAFTEN E.V.
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| Nationalparkfond Vadehavet
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| Ol Pejeta Conservancy Limited
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| The Danish Environmental Protection Agency
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| UNIVERSITAT KONSTANZ