A Pilot Study, by Tamara Williams

When I first arrived at Timburi Cocha Research Station, a group of engineers from the University of Manchester were also here, offering a unique opportunity for me to become an intern. They wanted to strap cameras to their large polystyrene remote control planes (or UAV- unmanned aerial vehicle), taking photos of the area, in order to create a detailed aerial map. Why not just use Google Earth? Well, in a remote location like Payamino, the quality of the Google Earth image is poor to say the least (sorry Google).

We rebuilt the planes from pieces, and after various checks and rechecks, we were ready to go! Take off was simple, take the plane and hurl it into the air. After this initial boost, the remote pilot would take charge, and the UAV would soar with as much agility and finesse as the vultures that invariably came when they saw the plane from afar, presumably to check out the excellent thermals the plane was surely gliding on.

When the plane was airborne, the camera took a photo every 2 seconds. After trying different heights, speeds, and camera settings we knew the ideal conditions. Then I painstakingly stitched the photos together. After what felt like a millennia, I had a jigsaw of the area, about 1 km square. Though this is a very small area, understanding the ideal conditions and method required, this could be repeated for huge areas with an auto pilot programme, which would be much cheaper (and greener) than using an actual plane, with much better image quality than from a satellite.

Why did we want to do this? High resolution aerial photography can be very useful to biologists working in the field. Here in Payamino, I set out to use the photos to look at tree species visible in the canopy, but it could be used to select sample sights, or to map deforestation and land use. We also used some other aircraft, such as the quadcopter, and hexacopter (four and six rotors respectively) which can both be controlled very accurately on all axes, and can be used to survey epiphytes or trees, or anywhere difficult for biologists to reach. I never expected to be learning about aerodynamics in the rainforest, but it was an entertaining and informative experience.



Tamara Williams is a University of Manchester Zoology student on placement as Logistics Coordinator (July 2012 - April 2013) of Timburi Cocha Research Station. She writes updates on her life in the rainforest and her research in Manchester Scientists Castaway.