Detecting animals

[KeviP]

The other day, being polite, I was asking a local farmer if it would be OK to fly over his fields.
He said no problem, but then asked me if If would be possible to film in infra red to detect baby deer in his fields before harvesting.
I would really like to help him and other farmers, but an IR setup is out of the question for me.
Then I thought about visual inspection as I imagine a baby deer lying in a field could maybe just about flatten enough vegetation to stand out.
Of course, there would be no guarantee, but he said that would be better than nothing.
I was thinking about systematic scans with Litchi.
Has anyone any experience with this?

There are professionals who do this, but for me it would just be a favour for local farmers.

(Sorry if the subject has already been adressed, but I couldn't find anything with a quick search in the forum)

 

[Keule]

Without a thermal setup you have to be very lucky to detect fawn or similar sized animals.
They are hidden well in high grass or other similar environments.

So, IMHO you can try, but it's not worth the effort without decent FLIR equipment.

 

[pelagic_one]

There’s only one reason why a farmer would ask such a thing, so I cringe to think about his past experience.

I agree that it would be a major challenge without FLIR equipment. A local friend and fellow forum member flew his MA2 around this week, noticed the adult deer walking around, but took much longer and several passes before finding these baby deer. Notice how the grass isn’t flattened out enough to notice.

 

[Guitarzan]

Deer, which are prey for predators, rely on two things for survival...concealment and speed. Unfortunately, their "fight or flight" response is usually made within less than 100 feet of danger. They have been known to run into stationary vehicles at stop signs after being spooked by something else.

 

[Fred Garvin]

...They have been known to run into stationary vehicles at stop signs after being spooked by something else...

I ride a motorcycle...I'm more afraid of deer than they are of me...

 

[Bob1956]

I tend to fly high up but I live rurally with a mix of woods and cow pastures. We have lots of deer here but the only animal I've seen are cows. Their tan coats really stick out against green grass just like a deer would but cows are big and they're usually standing still

 

[johnmeyer]

I just did a quick Google search on the subject, and you can find dozens of really good posts about the technology and methods used to spot animals from drones. You'll probably have better luck with that than in this forum.

 

[KeviP]

Thanks for all your comments and suggestions.
I knew it would not be easy but I thought I'd throw the question out there anyway.
The farmer in question has never hit a deer himself, but he lives in fear of it happening and I got the impression that professional scans of his fields would be out of his budget.
He was really interested in the drone (another one on our side) and I may send it up some day just to get an idea, but without much hope.

I hit a deer in my car last year, literally jumped out in front of me. If I'd have been on my motorcycle I may not have been writing this!

Thanks again, and I'll have a look on Google.

Kev

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

I've found quite a few 'strap on' FLIR cameras for drones on the past years, always interested as I think they have great aspects for various tasks on drones.

Found one that works brilliantly on a Mavic Pro, brackets on, has its own viewing screen, couldn't find the link now of course.

I did find a few links to FLIR in small to larger sizes, and some drone site pages, but these are much smaller FLIR than I recall.

Mavic Pro - FLIR Boson Thermal Ninja | Integral Drones Australia

The DJI Mavic pro with the Boson thermal camera from FLIR gives a wide variety of uses. Our Mavic Pro Flir Boson Thermal Ninja gives you total flexibility.

www.integraldrones.com.au

10 Thermal Vision Cameras For Drones And How Thermal Imaging Works - DroneZon

10 top thermal imaging cameras for drones reviewed and best uses for thermal images. How thermal vision imaging works with heat radiation, Electromagnetic spectrum and more

www.dronezon.com

FLIR Vue Pro Thermal Camera for Drones | Teledyne FLIR

Designed for professional use, FLIR Vue Pro is more than a thermal camera, it is a thermal measurement instrument and data recorder that adds tremendous value to your sUAS operations and services.

www.flir.com

The pricing seems to price it well out of 'helping the farmer out' price bracket though, when you scroll down the camera list in that last link.

If he was to help s[ring for some of the cost of the camera, well might be worth asking him if he's keen.
You can offer to fly his fiel annually, might be a bit of fun, especially if you can do it with Drone Deploy, Litchi, or whatever automated flight app to make it really easy.

 

[NAVMAV]

Ah man, just in time to destroy Dinner!

Rgds, NAVMAV

 

[Guitarzan]

I ride a motorcycle...I'm more afraid of deer than they are of me...

Fred, I also rode a motorcycle from '98 until 2016, and I avoided riding at night especially for that reason.