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Mon, Jun 29, 2015

UAVs Aide Whale Hunters In Alaska

Aircraft Developed By University Of Alaska, Fairbanks, Scouted Ice For Paths To Open Water

Whale hunters in Alaska normally spend days or weeks breaking paths by hand through winter ice in an effort to open channels to the ocean. But this year, a UAV developed by a student the University of Alaska, Fairbanks made that process easier.

According to a report from AUVSI, a Ptarmigan UAS hexcopter designed and built by UAF electrical engineering student Ben Neubauer, flew a grid pattern at an altitude of 400 feet over a section of ice about 2,400 feet by 600 square feet and used a NovAtel high-resolution camera to make a 3D map of the surface, identifying areas where the ice could more easily be broken through to make a path to open water. 

The idea was endorsed by the whaling captains from the Native Village of Barrow, AK.

Next year, researchers hope to use a fixed-wing UAV with a longer range to conduct similar flights.

(Image provided by the University of Alaska, Fairbanks)

FMI: www.uaf.edu

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