Responsible drone use in research is rapidly
entering and expanding in biogeographic and spatial science fields. It is changing how much more can be learnt in fundamental
disciplines and how fast humans can respond in time critical situations.
In the past 20 years remote aerial technology has progressively advanced in battery technology, sensor quality, remote controller sensitivity, signal strength and other key facets in delivering reliable and repeatable flights.
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These qualities have combined with modern small drones creating affordability and capacity for broad application across scientific diciplines. Upon reading and keeping up with new literature, creative methods in applying drones can be found consistently in public/private research. Reliable methods have been constructed to produce data that is precise and serves as an immense database for potential application of small UAV/high resolution mapping technology.
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When working with researchers, our first aim is to have stayed up to date on novel drone applications. We then aim to work with researchers to take a hypothesis and see what tools are required for the given location; as well as what location is best suited for the tools and the study focus.
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Common areas of drones in literature include photogrammetry, LiDAR, multispectral, hyper spectral and thermal imaging. Other facets include working with satellite technology for larger areas or with newer and more advanced sensors to refine their accuracy. Satellites and drones have opposite pro and cons; meaning that they are not necessarily in competitive conflict, but can be used to their strengths.
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Portent Tide was started by Environmental Scientist, Ben O'Dwyer. For this reason Ben approaches biogeography as a generalist and seeks to prepare for any subject matter by delving into the given literature as required. Whether the research relates to erosion, waterway management, primate communication, site contamination, or native and non-native population control; our commitment is to approach the project with curiosity and an open mind to applying drones to your field.
Deliverables:
Builds on the Base Package by adding an additional sensor data of choice. This can include multiple iterations of data collection for a given site which is especially useful for changing seasons and unique phenomena that require regular sampling daily/weekly/monthly/seasonally.
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Base Package +
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1 or more additional Data Source by date.
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Site Location Map(s) with key features and land use areas outlined. This is in vector format.
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Digital and Analog Delivery
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