ConservationDrones.org went to Glover's Reef in Belize upon the invitation of the Belize Fisheries Department and Wildlife Conservation Society. We explored the use of our drones for supporting enforcement of marine conservation areas.
Glover's Reef is about 50 km offshore with winds of 30-40 km per hour. We flew a modified version of the Techpod (thanks, Wayne!) and a custom-made Wing. Both did extremely well in the winds.
The Techpod made a failed attempt to climb to 1 km above sea level. Its motor burned out at 700 m, but APM glided it down to a 20x20 m landing spot in gusty winds! (We will post that story soon.)
We collected over 40 GB of video footage, which is being edited. This is just a sneak peek.
Comments
@Simon: I was just a tourist / sea kayaker, mostly on trips with Slickrock, which usually includes a visit to the island with the research station (source of some well-worn t-shirts).
What have you been doing at glover's john?
Presentation by Dr. Lian Pin Koh about drones for conservation.
This is great work. I have fond memories from my trips to Glover's Reef. If you wait a moment after the end of the first Belize video, you can see three more, followed by more videos about conservation efforts.
Great work ! good to know Techpod is capable of handling high wind condition, just wish if Wayne is going to roll out the Nextpod, please allow more room in the fuselage.