Tag: University College London

Drone Wars: Protecting Endangered Animals

WWF_droneDespite anxieties associated with drone use – most of which have to do with domestic surveillance and warfare – there are numerous positive uses for the technology. Whether it is keeping an eye on oil rigs, monitoring underground cables, spying on drug or human traffickers, or ecological surveillance, there are plenty of uses for unmanned aerial vehicles beyond warfare and invading privacy.

In Namibia, for example, where poaching remains a problem, drones may be the key to protecting the endangered rhino and elephants. Namibia’s Ministry of Environment and Tourism, along with the World Wildlife Fund and funding from Google, have partnered to invest in drones that can track rhino and elephant herds. Through the use of these drones, the researchers were able to follow herds and alert law enforcement in the event the animals were being targeted by poachers.

WWF_drone_graphicIn field tests conducted in two national parks in November 2013, drones with 2-metre wingspans flew day and night missions to video black rhino herds and send live footage to poacher-tracking rangers on the ground. Smart radio tags attached to rhinos allowed the drones to home in on each herd’s current location. Crawford Allan, leader of the Wildlife Crime Technology Project at WWF, put it as follows:

We broke new ground using technologies that have never been integrated before to provide powerful wildlife protection.

The MET says it will now press ahead and deploy drones in areas of Namibia where rhinos and elephants roam. WWF estimates that illegal poaching in Africa nets criminals $10 billion each year – with some 22,000 elephants killed annually and 1000 rhinos killed last year in South Africa alone. Their efforts are also thinning out elephant and rhino populations and putting the entire ecosystem at risk.

conservation_rhinoAlthough the drone program should help prevent poaching in Namibia, the issue is widespread across Africa. It’s not clear whether a similar program will be rolled out elsewhere, but any success incurred in Namibia to stop poaching will set a precedent others are sure to follow. And, it should be noted, this country and the WWF are hardly alone in wanting to adapt UAV technology to the goal or ecological or species conservation.

In many ways, MET’s use of high-tech to protect wildlife echoes that of Technology For Nature (TfN), a joint venture of Microsoft Research in Cambridge, UK, University College London and the Zoological Society of London. Led by Lucas Joppa and Siamak Tavakoli at Microsoft, TfN is getting similar drone and animal-tagging projects off the ground in the Republic of the Congo, the Seychelles and Zambia.

conservation_drones_inlineAnd then there’s Conservation Drones, a non-profit organization co-founded by Serge Wich – a professor in primate biology at John Moores University. Made up of researchers and technologists, the group’s mandate is to spread drone use around the world for the sake of conservation. So far, they have worked with conservation groups and governments in Nepal, Indonesia, Gabon, and Greenland, and Wich hopes to visit more countries later this year.

According to Wich, the challenges to conservation go beyond simply monitoring endangered animals, which may be in too few number to accurately keep track of. There’s also the matter of the rough and vast terrain, which can be very difficult to physically cover. Drones are a big game changer in this game. By covering large areas in surveys, doing it repeatedly, and automating some of the analysis, aerial vehicles can track wildlife in a more comprehensive and efficient way.

conservation_dronesThanks to the growth of commercial aerial drones in recent years and the significant reduction in price, the technology is becoming much more affordable and user-friendly. The kits Conservation Drones uses cost no more than about $3,000, and the latest version has an open-source autopilot platform from California, along with a GPS tracker and altimeter. It’s then fitted with still cameras or video. As Wich himself put it:

The potential is huge to allow people to do very efficient data collection on a variety of issues that are important for conservation. We often struggle determining how many animals there are, where human encroachment is occurring. There are an enormous amount of ecological questions we can address with these systems.

To set a flight path, Wich simply plugs in a few points on a Google Map, then launches the drone by hand. The battery-powered module can fly for up to an hour, and cover a maximum distance of about 40 km (25 miles). The drones offer an aerial view, allowing Wich and his colleagues to get a close-up view unobscured by clouds. The next step is to improve the analysis of the images that come back.

conservation_drone_mosaicConservation Drones is now working to automate the counting process, and build up picture-maps by stitching hundreds of images together (like the one above). It also wants to create 3-D model environments, providing a sort of living inventory of what’s been destroyed and what remains. Long-term, it is hoped that governments all over the world with conservation problems will used the detailed software and aerial drones to keep tabs on their endangered animals and habitats to ensure their protection.

Several other groups are also pioneering drones-for-conservation, notably the World Wildlife Fund working with Google, the International Anti-Poaching Foundation, led by Iraq War veteran Damien Mander, and ShadowView, a group out of the Netherlands. Poachers beware. In addition, the Zambian Carnivore Program will be testing a pair of VHF-radio-equipped quadcopter drones in the US soon and he hopes to begin testing the miniature aircraft in Kafue National Park in Zambia in May.

In the meantime, check out this video of the MET/WWF drone survey:


And learn more about Conservation Drones from this TED talk by Wich’s partner Lian Pin Koh:


Sources: news.cnet.com, fastcoexist.com, newscientist.com

News from Mars: Another (Planned) Mission!

mars-mission1When it comes to generational milestones, those of born since the late 70’s often feel like we’re lagging behind previous generations. Unlike the “Greatest Generation” or the “Baby Boomers”, we weren’t around to witness Two World Wars, the Great Depression, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the death of JFK, Neil Armstrong, or the FLQ Crisis. For us, the highlights were things like the development of the PC, the birth of the internet, Kurt Cobain, and of course, 9/11.

But looking ahead, those us of belonging to Generation X, Y, and Millennials might just be around to witness the greatest event in human history to date – a manned mission to Mars! And while NASA is busy planning a mission for 2030, a number of private sources are looking to make a mission happen sooner. One such group is a team of UK scientists working from Imperial College London that are working to mount a a three person mission to Mars.

mission-to-marsThe planned mission consists of two spacecraft, the first of which is a Martian lander equipped with a heat shield that will send the crew off into Earth’s orbit. The second craft would be a habitat vehicle, which is the craft that the crew would live in during the voyage. The habitat vehicle would consist of three floors, and measure in at around 30 feet (10m) tall and 13 feet (4m) in diameter.

The astronauts would be situated in the lander during takeoff, and would move to the habitat when the dual-craft reaches Earth orbit. Once the astronauts are safely within the habitat, a rocket would shoot the dual-craft off on its journey to Mars, which would take nine months to arrive, less than the approximately 300 days that most projections say it will take.

Mars_landerOnce In space, the dual-craft would then split apart but remain connected by a 60 meter (200 foot) tether. Thrusters from both vehicles would then spin them around a central point, creating artificial gravity similar to Earth’s in the habitat. Not only would this help the astronauts feel at home for the better part of a lonely year, but it would also reduce the bone and muscle atrophy that are associated with weightlessness.

The craft would be well-stocked with medicine to ensure that the crew remained in fine health for the nine month transit. Superconducting magnets, as well as water flowing through the shell of the craft, would be employed to help reduce both cosmic and solar radiation. And once the dual-craft reaches Mars, it would tether back together, the crew would move back into the lander, and then detach from the habitat descend to the Martian surface.

Mars-mission-2This mission would also involve sending a habitat and return vehicle to Mars before the astronauts arrived, so the crew would have shelter upon landing as well as a way to get home. The crew would spend anywhere from two months to two years on Mars, depending on the goals of the mission and the distance between Mars and Earth. On the way back home, the mission would dock with the ISS, then take a craft back to Earth from there.

What’s especially interesting about this proposed mission is that each stage of it has been proven to work in an individual capacity. What’s more, the concept of using water as a form radiation shielding is far more attractive than Inspiration Mars’, which calls for using the astronauts own fecal matter!

Unfortunately, no real timetable or price tags have been proposed for this mission yet. However, considering that every individual step of the mission has been proven to work on its own, the proposed overall journey could work. In the meantime, all us post-Baby Boomers can do is wait and hope we live to see it! I for one am going sick of hearing Boomers talk about where they were when Apollo 11 happened and having nothing comparable to say!

And be sure to enjoy this video of the University College London team discussing the possibilities of a Mars mission in our lifetime:


Sources: bbc.co.uk, extremetech.com

The Future of Medicine: Curing Blindness

curing_blindnessAccording to a recent study in Nature Biotechnology, a significant leap has been made towards the curing of blindness. Using stem cells, researchers at the Moorfields Eye Hospital and University College London claim that the part of the eye which actually detects light can be repaired. An animal study revealed that it could be done, and human trials are now a realistic prospect.

Experts described it as a “significant breakthrough” and “huge leap” forward, and for good reason. In the past, stem cell research has shown that the photoreceptors in the eye that degrade over time can be kept healthy and alive longer. But this latest trial shows that the light-sensing cells themselves can be replaced, raising the prospect of reversing blindness.

The Moorfields research team used a new technique for building retinas in the laboratory, collecting thousands of stem cells, which were primed to transform into photoreceptors, and injecting them into the eyes of blind mice. The study showed that these cells could hook up with the existing architecture of the eye and begin to function.

rods_and_cones_of_the_retina-splHowever, with ongoing trials, the results remain limited. Of the 200,000 or so stem cells injected into the eyes of the blind mice, only about 1,000 cells actually hooked up with the rest of the eye. Still, the margin for success and the fact that they were able to rehabilitate receptors thought to be dead was quite the accomplishment.

As lead researcher Prof. Robin Ali told the BBC News website:

This is a real proof of concept that photoreceptors can be transplanted from an embryonic stem cells source and it give us a route map to now do this in humans. That’s why we’re so excited, five years is a now a realistic aim for starting a clinical trial.

The eye remains one of the most advanced fields of stem cell research, with clinical trials aiming to correct macular degeneration, astigmatism, and other degenerative and inherited traits. And compared to other fields, like neurological disorders and impairments, it is a relatively simple one. Hence, much less cells would also be needed to make a difference, as opposed to other organs, like a failing liver or kidney.

photoreceptorsWhereas reversing something like dementia requires stem cells to hook up and repair far more cells across the brain, light sensing cells are easier to deal with, since they only have to pass their electrical message to one or more cells. What’s more, the immune system is relatively weak in the eye, which means the chances for stem cell rejection.

 As Chris Mason, a Professor from the University College London, told the BBC:

I think they have made a major step forward here, but the efficiency is still too low for clinical uses. At the moment the numbers of tiny and it will take quite a bit of work to get the numbers up and then the next question is ‘Can you do it in man?’ But I think it is a significant breakthrough which may lead to cell therapies and will give a much expanded knowledge on how to cure blindness.

In short, the results are encouraging and human trials could begin within five years. And given the likelihood for success, blindness could very become a thing of the past within a decade or so.

Source: bbc.co.uk