A UniSA PhD student can now add “world first” to her CV after collaborating with global cinematographer Douglas Thron to accurately measure heart and breathing rates of African wildlife filmed with a drone.
Danyi Wang, working under the guidance of UniSA remote sensing engineer Professor Javaan Chahl, used sophisticated signal processing techniques to detect vital signs of zebra, sable antelopes, waterbucks and giraffe from drone footage.
It is believed to be the first time that this technique – pioneered by Prof Chahl and his team in 2019 – has been used to successfully extract heart and breathing rates of animals filmed from a drone at long distances.
The collaboration with Thron, one of the world’s most high-profile drone pilots, came about after the cinematographer read about Prof Chahl’s remote sensing study with Adelaide Zoo.
Thron films across the world using specialised drones with infrared cameras, zoom lenses and spotlights to rescue animals affected by natural disasters. He spent six months in Australia in 2020 after the World Wildlife Fund hired him to find vulnerable wildlife in the wake of the country’s devastating bushfires.
That experience – as well as the world-first experiment in Malawi, Africa – features in a documentary series named Doug to the Rescue, which airs in more than 30 countries worldwide on the Curiosity Stream channel.
In the Malawi documentary, which premiered in mid-June, Wang and Prof Chahl are interviewed via Zoom, discussing the challenges they faced to pick up tiny movements from the animals’ chest cavities filmed by Thron’s drone from ranges of more than 50 metres.
“We had to select the right sequences in the video where it was stable enough for us to get heart rates, but we were able to do it,” Prof Chahl says.
According to Wang, the sable antelope’s heart rate was right in the middle of the normal range and its breathing rate was at the lower end, which indicated it was very healthy and not stressed at all, even by the presence of the drone.
Likewise, the vital signs captured from a giraffe, zebra and waterbuck were all in the expected range.
“It was exciting to work with a US-based documentary team on location in Malawi, via video conferencing from Adelaide, while Australia’s borders were closed,” Wang says.
“It just shows what is possible in a research context using modern technology, even in a pandemic.”
Wang was also part of the UniSA team who worked remotely with Canadian drone manufacturer Draganfly in 2020 to create COVID screening technology for humans.
Prof Chahl says there is significant potential to use the same technology to monitor the health of wildlife globally, particularly endangered animals, and assist conservation efforts.
“We have demonstrated that a drone can be used to film wildlife at long distances without disturbing or stressing them, and then use AI techniques to successfully extract cardiopulmonary signals to remotely monitor for signs of poor health.
“This documentary was partly an experiment. Doug and his team wanted to verify that their work was not distressing the animals they try to help. Our results confirmed that.”
Original Article: World first experiment using drones for wildlife health checks
More from: University of South Australia
The Latest Updates from Bing News & Google News
Go deeper with Bing News on:
Wildlife health checks
- Yes, cayenne pepper can help keep wildlife out of your garden
Gardening and pest control experts say products that contain capsaicin, a chemical that makes cayenne peppers hot, can work as an animal and insect repellent.
- Texas Parks and Wildlife Department seeks public comment on deer breeding facility rule changes
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department announced it will be seeking public comments until May 22 regarding amendments to rules on disease detection and responses within deer breeding facilities, ...
- One-tank Trip: Birds of a feather flock to Georgia Southern's Wildlife Education Center
About 60 miles west of Savannah nestled on the campus of Georgia Southern University rests the Center for Wildlife Education ... They’ve been nursed to health elsewhere and arrived at the facility to ...
- Border officials seize exotic animals as wildlife smuggling grows
From 2018 to 2021, wildlife trafficking surged more than 150%, according to a Moody’s Analytics report, which cited government data. The illegal trade has become a breeding ground for corruption and a ...
- Mandai Wildlife Group Makes History with First Fish CT Scan on Bala Shark
Mandai Wildlife Group's first-ever CT scan on a fish is reportedly a Bala Shark after they found it exhibiting a weirdly swimming in circles and sideways in the Mekong River display at River Wonders, ...
Go deeper with Google Headlines on:
Wildlife health checks
[google_news title=”” keyword=”wildlife health checks” num_posts=”5″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
Go deeper with Bing News on:
Wildlife monitoring
- ‘In his underwear:’ Man arrested for joyriding around Vilano Beach, crashing stolen $100,000 boat
According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Anthony Terry found himself in hot water after allegedly stealing a woman’s $100,00 boat to joyride near the Conch House Marina.
- Monitor effects of growing traffic in wildlife parks
Uganda National Roads Authority released a statement announcing the closure of Karuma Bridge to heavy-duty traffic.The bridge is a major north-south link, connecting the rest of Uganda to northern ...
- Critically endangered wildlife sighted in Mt. Apo
KIDAPAWAN CITY – Environment officials in the Soccsksargen Region have documented critically endangered wildlife, such as squirrels and birds more commonly known as the mythical "Ibong Adarna," in the ...
- Governor slammed for halting crucial wildlife protections with last-minute veto: 'We really do need to regulate'
According to the New Jersey Forest Task Force, the Garden State is one of just five states in the United States that doesn't have statewide regulations or strategies to control or eradicate invasive ...
- Mountain wildlife and the costs of living dangerously
Mountain goats use steep, exposed terrain to avoid carnivores such as wolves, but new research reveals a significant cost of this behavior: exposure to snow avalanches. Findings from a long-term study ...
Go deeper with Google Headlines on:
Wildlife monitoring
[google_news title=”” keyword=”wildlife monitoring” num_posts=”5″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]