The use of drones has been steadily increasing in recent years, with applications ranging from surveillance and search operations to aerial photography, topography and digital communications. But drones are also being used to solve environmental problems, from tracking endangered species to monitoring environmental disasters. In Peru, drones are collecting evidence to stop illegal mining and logging in the Amazon. In Senegal, drones help farmers monitor their land for signs of salinity, which can seriously affect crops.
In Tanzania, drones spray a biodegradable, non-toxic formula that kills mosquito larvae and helps combat the spread of malaria. Drones are also ideal for cartography: a 5 kg drone can fly for several hours and send images with a pixel resolution of up to one meter. In some cases, drones are even capable of identifying sick trees. WeRobotics acts as a facilitator between technology companies that manufacture drones and local Flying Labs that use drones for environmental and social good around the world.
The startup drone company Drones Over Water has developed an agile quadrocopter that can take water samples from potentially dangerous water sources in hard-to-reach places and return them for analysis for infectious diseases. Last month, in North America, DroneDeploy, a provider of cloud software platforms for commercial drones, and DJI, one of the leading manufacturers of drones and camera technology, forged a partnership that is expected to dramatically increase the efficiency of installing and inspecting solar panels by capturing and analyzing thermal images with drones. Currently, the sale of drones to customers (for personal use) is much higher than that of commercial drones, which include delivery drones. It's important to comply with the law and protect nature as much as possible when using drones. There's no doubt that it's possible to maintain the activity of your low-impact drone, just make sure you're fully aware of your surroundings. With the right knowledge and technology, drones can be used to solve a variety of environmental problems.
