Eye in the sky
A fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicle tested for cetacean monitoring
Overview
Status: Completed
Topics: Research
Start date: 06/07/2022
End date: 12/06/2023
Parent project: CSR
Project website:
Funding institutions: Autonomous
Supporters
Amer Yachts, Flowe, Siram Veolia
Target species: Cetaceans
Tethys role: Leader
Project leader: Guardia Costiera Italiana (Italian Coast Guard) and Tethys Research Institute
Project manager for Tethys: Sabina Airoldi
Project partners: European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA)
Project subcontractors: REACT consortium (TEKEVER and Collected Localization Satellites CLS)
Project staff: Marina Costa, Valentina De Santis, Caterina Lanfredi
Project other staff:
Milestone project:
Detailed description
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are increasingly being recognized as potentially useful for monitoring cetaceans and other megafauna. While most of the studies are conducted with multirotor UAVs, the use of fixed-wing ones is still very limited.
The Eye in the Sky project has been developed thanks to the collaboration among the
Italian Coast Guard, the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA), and the Tethys Research Institute, to test the suitability of the UAV technology for cetacean monitoring.
EMSA has been supporting the Italian Coast Guard by providing Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) for multipurpose maritime surveillance missions (which includes pollution prevention, safety and security).
The RPAS employed by the Italian Coast Guard is a TEKEVER AR5 Evolution, a medium-size, long endurance fixed-wing vehicle, produced by REACT, a consortium between the Portuguese TEKEVER, manufacturer of unmanned systems technology and services, and the Collected Localisation Satellites (CLS), belonging to the French Space Agency.
RPAS operates “Beyond Radio Line of Sight”, with a satellite communication system, and is equipped with one electro-optical video camera (EO), one midwaves' infrared sensor (IR), and one digital still camera.
The “Eye in the Sky” project took place in two phases (the first from 6th of July to 28th of November 2022, and the second from 23rd of March to 12th of June 2023), covering a small portion of the Pelagos Sanctuary, and following a survey design that included 23 east-west oriented parallel transects. Different altitudes and video frame settings were tested to optimize cetacean sightability.
Results
A total of 54 missions were conducted, resulting in 113 hours and 11,430 km of survey effort, of which 79% on the transects and 21% ad libitum (i.e., without following any predefined survey design). Seven cetacean species were observed during 66 sightings including 24 fin whales, 14 striped dolphins, 7 sperm whales, 3 long-finned pilot whales, two each of Cuvier's beaked whales, Risso's dolphins, and common bottlenose dolphins. Other 11 sightings were of small dolphins, either common or striped dolphins, and one large unidentified cetacean.
The Eye in the Sky study suggests that RPAS are an efficient tool for systematic monitoring of cetaceans, with the advantage of being human-risk-free, non-invasive, and with a small carbon footprint. Several recommendations were considered to address challenges encountered during the project, such as limited satellite signal, the need for high-definition cameras, specialized software for data collection, and access to an airbase.
Furthermore, valuable technical information was gathered to contribute to the ongoing discussion about the use of UAVs for the monitoring of marine wildlife as a complement to traditional survey platforms (observer-based aerial and vessel-based) and for supporting the requirements of the European Directives. In particular, a roadmap for obtaining the flight permits was developed with the aim to facilitate this process for future missions.