University of Adelaide environmental researchers have called for a ‘code of best practice’ in using unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) for wildlife monitoring and protection, and other biological field research.
The researchers, from the University’s Unmanned Research Aircraft Facility (URAF) or Adelaide Drone Hub, say that drones are a useful tool for field research and their use is growing in popularity.
But, they warn in a report published in the Cell Press journal Current Biology, this new technology could also have undesirable and unforeseen impacts on wildlife and there is currently little understanding of the risks.
The report authors are Jarrod Hodgson, researcher and PhD candidate in the URAF, and Associate Professor Lian Pin Koh, Director of URAF and a global pioneer in the use of drones for conservation as founding director of the not-for-profit organisation Conservation Drones.org.
Read the full media release and The Conversation article.
This research was covered by:
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ABC News
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Mashable
