Category
Mobile observing platforms
Capabilities
The UKCEH drone fleet can carry a range of sensors to rapidly map and measure, for example: landscapes; land management; habitats; vegetation; crops; disease; wildlife; soil moisture; chemicals and pollution. UKCEH Drones are registered with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) for regulated UK use, primarily in rural settings but they can fly in urban settings with CAA and landowner permissions, and they have also been used around the world. The drones are robust, generally stable in wind and rain, long endurance (able to cover 1 square km in one flight) and capable of carrying weights up to 1kg (though there is a trade-off between weight and battery charge which may limit endurance). UKCEH drones offer: industry-standard quality assurance and control procedures; machine learning to detect and identify specific objects; processes and capacity to handle large data sets. The UKCEH drone fleet comprises: (1) DJI Mavic pro 2 RGB drone - based at UKCEH Wallingford. (2) DJI Matrice 600 heavy lift drone - based at UKCEH Wallingford - can be fitted with various sensors, but generally with hyperspectral imaging spectrometer (400-900nm). (3) M300RTK - based at UKCEH Lancaster - with: onboard CPU for AI and UAV control; twin cameras for simultaneous multispectral and high resolution mapping; capabale of mapping 1 sq km in a single flight with LIDAR. LIDAR processing software is available at UKCEH Lancaster to combine the spectral data with the LIDAR measurements. Postprocessing of data using photogrammetry and vegetation indices is also available using cloud based computer processing systems.
Lifecycle
The UKCEH Airborne Research Drone fleet was established in 2016 (when the M600 was acquired) since when the number and capability of drones has expanded. Existing drones will need replacing every few years to maintain and expand capabilities to keep up with the rapidly developing 'plug and play' technologies of new sensors.
Uniqueness
UKCEH Airborne Research Drones are industry standard and relatively inexpensive. Nevertheless their specialist application and capabilities (including range, endurance and high resolution imaging) coupled with UKCEH expertise make them an important and valuable environmental research tool for UKCEH and our collaborators.
Partners
UKCEH drones are based at UKCEH Wallingford (two DJI drones) and UKCEH Lancaster (one M300RTK drone).
Access
Access to the drones is available to project collaborators and qualified / approved pilots: Contact UKCEH Wallingford (two DJI drones) or UKCEH Lancaster Land Use Group M300RTK drone). Research data collected by UKCEH drones is usually available via the UKCEH Environmental Information Data Centre (EIDC).
Location
Based out of UKCEH Wallingford and UKCEH Lancaster
Funding sources
Use of UKCEH Drones is funded by: research project grants; UKRI-STFC; and UKCEH science are funding.
Users
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These Unmanned Airborne Systems (drones) are used by: UKCEH researchers, project partners and collaborators. Operation of the drones is restricted to qualified and approved pilots.
Last updated
28 April 2022 13:22
