Queensland University of Technology to use UAS to track and save koalas in Australia

Advertisement

Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in Australia will use UAS to find and protect koalas in South East Queensland.

Through a two-year project, QUT will provide rapid estimates of koala abundance, using UAS and high resolution imagery.

The project is being led by Dr. Grant Hamilton from QUT’s Science and Engineering Faculty, who says that the technology would “provide a robust survey method for detecting koalas and estimating their numbers.”

“The primary emphasis of this project is on the ecology of koala conservation, and we are using drones and automated imaging technology as tools to assist,” Hamilton says through the school's website.

“Through the use of drones we will be able to better locate our native fauna, and to get more accurate estimates of their abundance that we need to make effective conservation decisions.”

Hamilton says that the project, which will combine automated identification and data analytics, is a “world-first in developing a robust methodology to use drones to estimate numbers, accounting for errors in detection.”

Other eco-systems could potentially be protected since the results of this project have the capability of being deployed.

The State Government has announced a funding boost for koala conservation, which will also benefit this project.

Speaking of the new funding, Steven Miles, Minister for Environment and Heritage Protection, says “we have committed an additional $12.1 million for koala conservation as well as a further $2.6 million per annum of ongoing funding for koala protection.”

Miles adds, “we’ve also invested $6 million in wildlife hospitals that take care of our sick or injured koalas.”