Photogrammetry with an Unmanned Aerial System to Assess Body Condition and Growth of Blainville's Beaked Whales

Abstract

We propose to use the NOAA APH-22 marine hexacopter as an Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) to obtain vertical images of whale lengths and width profiles. This small, battery-powered platform is quiet, cost-effective and safe to operate from small boats, and can hover over animal groups. We will launch the hexacopter from a boat platform to fly short missions over beaked whales when they are sighted close-by at the surface, obtaining high resolution digital images from a height of approximately 30m. We will validate this system for beaked whales during a field trial in summer 2016 south of Great Abaco Island, northern Bahamas, where a photo-identification study over 18 years has demonstrated high site-fidelity of Md.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 30, 2015
Accession Number
AD1014009

Entities

People

  • Charlotte Dunn
  • Diane Claridge
  • Holly Fearnbach
  • John Durban
  • Wayne Perryman

Organizations

  • National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Autonomy
  • Biomedical
  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Animals
  • Biology
  • Cameras
  • Control Systems
  • Fish
  • Habitats
  • High Resolution
  • Images
  • Mammals
  • Marine Mammals
  • Measurement
  • Odontocetes
  • Photogrammetry
  • Photographs
  • Photography
  • Test And Evaluation
  • Unmanned Aerial Systems

Fields of Study

  • Environmental science

Readers

  • Aerial Unmanned Vehicle Swarm Micro Periodontal Dentistry.
  • Marine Mammal Biology

Technology Areas

  • Autonomy