Feasibility of Using Small UAVs to Derive Morphometric Measurements of Australian Snubfin (Orcaella heinsohni) and Humpback (Sousa sahulensis) Dolphins

Analysis of animal morphometrics can provide vital information regarding population dynamics, structure, and body condition of cetaceans. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have become the primary tool to collect morphometric measurements on whales, whereas on free ranging small dolphins, have not yet been applied. This study assesses the feasibility of obtaining reliable body morphometrics from Australian snubfin (Orcaella heinsohni) and humpback dolphins (Sousa sahulensis) using images collected from UAVs. Specifically, using a dolphin replica of known size, we tested the effect of the altitude of the UAV and the position of the animal within the image frame on the accuracy of length estimates. Using linear mixed models, we further assessed the precision of the total length estimates of humpback and snubfin dolphins. The precision of length estimates on the replica increased by ~2% when images were sampled at 45–60 m compared with 15–30 m. However, the precision of total length estimates on dolphins was significantly influenced only by the degree of arch and edge certainty. Overall, we obtained total length estimates with a precision of ~3% and consistent with published data. This study demonstrates the reliability of using UAV based images to obtain morphometrics of small dolphin species, such as snubfin and humpback dolphins.

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Ungulate Responses to Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Flying at Different Altitudes in Africa’s Arid Savanna

10.1101/2020.07.14.202093 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Marlice vanVuuren ◽

Rudie vanVuuren ◽

Larry M. Silverberg ◽

Joe Manning ◽

Krishna Pacifici ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles ◽

Behavioral Responses ◽

Anecdotal Evidence ◽

Flight Altitude ◽

Strong Correlations ◽

Altitude Range ◽

Aerial Vehicles ◽

Future Viability ◽

Free Ranging ◽

Different Altitudes

AbstractThis paper tests the hypothesis that ungulate-UAV interaction depends strongly on flight altitude, that there may be a lowest altitude range for which the ungulates are not exceedingly disturbed, dictating a practically achievable level of discernibility in flight observation. This question strongly influences the future viability of the UAV in the study and protection of the ungulates in Africa’s arid savanna. This paper examined the behavioral responses of a group of free ranging ungulate species (Oryx, Kudu, Springbok, Giraffe, Eland, Hartebeest, and Impala) found in an animal reserve in Namibia to the presence of different in-flight UAV models. The study included 99 flights (337 passes) at altitudes ranging from 15 to 55 meters. The ungulates were unhabituated to the UAVs and the study was conducted in the presence of stress-inducing events that occur naturally in the environment. The results suggest strong correlations between flight altitude and response across the different ungulates and anecdotal evidence suggests in some cases rapid habituation to the UAVs.

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Optimal control problems in transport dynamics

Mathematical Models and Methods in Applied Sciences ◽

10.1142/s0218202517500063 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 27 (03) ◽

pp. 427-451 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Mattia Bongini ◽

Giuseppe Buttazzo

Keyword(s):

Optimal Control ◽

Population Dynamics ◽

Optimal Control Problem ◽

Control Problem ◽

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles ◽

Optimal Control Problems ◽

Control Problems ◽

Transport Dynamics ◽

Aerial Vehicles ◽

The Cost

In the present paper, we deal with an optimal control problem related to a model in population dynamics; more precisely, the goal is to modify the behavior of a given density of individuals via another population of agents interacting with the first. The cost functional to be minimized to determine the dynamics of the second population takes into account the desired target or configuration to be reached as well as the quantity of control agents. Several applications may fall into this framework, as for instance driving a mass of pedestrian in (or out of) a certain location; influencing the stock market by acting on a small quantity of key investors; controlling a swarm of unmanned aerial vehicles by means of few piloted drones.

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Development of thickened semi-synthetic engine oil M-5z / 20 AERO for four-stroke gasoline engines aircraft piston of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)

World of OIL Products the Oil Companies Bulletin ◽

10.32758/2071-5951-2020-0-6-44-47 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 06 ◽

pp. 44-47

Author(s):

A.A. Moykin ◽

◽

A.S. Medzhibovsky ◽

S.A. Kriushin ◽

M.V. Seleznev ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles ◽

Engine Oil ◽

Motor Oil ◽

Gasoline Engines ◽

State Research Institute ◽

Technical Requirements ◽

Aerial Vehicles ◽

State Research ◽

Industrial Batch ◽

The Russian Federation

Nowadays, the creation of remotely-piloted aerial vehicles for various purposes is regarded as one of the most relevant and promising trends of aircraft development. FAU "25 State Research Institute of Chemmotology of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation" have studied the operation features of aircraft piston engines and developed technical requirements for motor oil for piston four-stroke UAV engines, as well as a new engine oil M-5z/20 AERO in cooperation with NPP KVALITET, LLC. Based on the complex of qualification tests, the stated operational properties of the experimental-industrial batch of M-5z/20 AERO oil are generally confirmed.

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