Unmanned aerial vehicles for environmental monitoring, ecological conservation, and disaster management

Abstract

This article presents our work with Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) centered on preservation of human lives and the ecosystems that support them. In the Taim Ecological Station located in Southern Brazil, the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS) and other stakeholders have acted collaboratively to assess geographic information to help for the elaboration of an environmental plan to solve specific community demands and also to monitor the impact and dynamic aspects of the ecosystem, such as the occurrence of fire, invasive species, and environmental infractions. Our current work focuses on enhancing the regional models using precision and super high-resolution images taken by UAVs especially for those areas already identified as high risk. Meteorological sensors carried by UAVs can be employed to collect atmospheric information, providing better precision for the meteorological models at a local level. When these data are integrated in hydraulic/hydrological models, scene-generation becomes possible, thus allowing us to predict which regions are vulnerable to floods or landslides depending on different levels of rainfall. To foster the adaptation to global changes with the Porto Alegre Metropolitan region as a pilot area, we recently brought together individuals and volunteers willing to create technical tools and instruments.