In 2013, 1004 rhinos were killed by poachers, but three students from Cranfield University in the United Kingdom are hoping their new idea will keep poachers from breaking that record number.
Poachers, Big Brother is truly watching and he works for European Space Agency (ESA).
Idriss Sisaid, Enrique Garcia Bourne and Edward Anastassacos won this year's Space Solutions University (S2UN) Challenge with a proposal to use high-resolution technology used in space telescopes and attaching it to an unmanned aerial vehicle (UVA).
"Our proposal intends to develop lightweight and autonomous UAVs for observing in two main sectors: wildlife conservation, and search and rescue," Sisaid said, according to ESA..
"Imaging Optics and Optical Device for Mapping a Curved Image Field" is ESA-patented and, combined with drones, could provide a cost-effective way to act in response to emergencies with an even quicker response time. Rangers would be able to monitor (in real-time) larger areas for poachers hunting rhinoceros or elephants.
"ESA patent 561 presented us with a platform technology to produce inherently high-quality, non-distorted and wide-angle images," said Garcia. "When applied to UAVs, this allows far greater coverage and improved performance when compared to UAVs with more traditional cameras."
"Our success in ESA's Challenge is the first step of the project," said Anastassacos. "Continued development of the imaging system based on the ESA's patent will bring us one step closer to the prototyping phase. We look forward to seeing our idea take flight."
