Drone technology is successfully used to attach bird flight diverters to a live powerline

DRONE TECHNOLOGY IS SUCCESSFULLY USED TO ATTACH BIRD FLIGHT DIVERTERS TO A LIVE POWERLINE

Lourens Leeuwner, EWT’ s Wildlife and Energy Programme Manager, lourensl@ewt.org.za You may remember the article we published in February entitled Technology taking conservation to new heights celebrating the granting of EWT’ s license to operate remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS), commonly referred to as drones, by the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) in January of this year. The article detailed some of the potential applications for RPAS in conservation and detailed the aerial imagery support we provided to the Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (GDARD) in February for the continuous monitoring of a Hippopotamus seen moving in and around residential areas in northern Johannesburg. However, the primary purpose behind our application for the license was to fulfil the vision shared by the ESKOM/EWT Strategic Partnership to enhance the efficiency of our existing interventions to reduce wildlife mortality resulting from linear infrastructure such as power lines while ensuring the safety of our technicians.

Collision with overhead power lines is a significant cause of mortality for several large bird species. Line markers are the preferred and most widely implemented approach to preventing bird collisions with power lines and can reduce mortality by up to 92% for certain species. In South Africa, line markers are currently attached to power lines by hand, via helicopter for larger transmission lines, and a bucket truck for smaller distribution lines, which all present significant safety concerns. However, drone technology now provides an alternative that negates the need to bring linemen into contact with power line cables while potentially saving millions of Rands in helicopter time and other live line equipment usually required to perform the task. Eskom’s distribution and transmission overhead power lines have a well-documented negative impact on South Africa’s threatened and protected avifauna, and therefore improving the marking efficiency and cost-effectiveness will help streamline powerline mitigation efforts to the benefit of thousands of birds.

The Endangered Wildlife Trust’s Wildlife and Energy Programme, in partnership with Eskom Holdings SOC Limited, has designed and developed a unique drone-operated system to carry and deploy bird flight diverters, or ‘flappers’, which serve as markers to improve the visibility of power line cables to birds in flight. Drones, also known as remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS), are revolutionising technician safety and efficiency in several spheres of industry. The main practical advantage of a drone is its ability to go places that humans and their traditional modes of transport cannot, and the most significant benefit is that it can safely perform the same tasks by eliminating the need for people to get into dangerous situations whilst reducing overall costs.

Through innovative 3D design and printing technology, the EWT developed a working prototype of a remote attachment system mounted on a drone that can attach flappers to powerlines safely. This custom-built first of its kind system can carry one magazine, holding four flappers at a time, and multiple magazines can be printed for quick reloading in the field. The magazine is suspended safely below the drone by an insulated rod, so that the pilot can position the drone away from live energy components while the magazine makes contact with the line and dispenses the flapper. The concept was successfully demonstrated to the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) in December 2020 and subsequently approved for commercial application, subject to rigorous safety and operational procedures. Following this important milestone, the system was tested in a controlled environment under the supervision of the Eskom Distribution North West Operating Unit Platinum Live Work department before a field trial was completed in the Zeerust area early in March 2021. Marking the line selected for the trial formed part of Eskom Distribution’s bird mitigation strategy, as several vultures had collided with the line previously.

Constant Hoogstad, the EWT’s Senior Manager: Industry Partnerships, initiated the project in 2016 and had this to say about the recent field trials: “What an incredible achievement for the Eskom/EWT strategic partnership to mark the first powerline in Africa with an RPAS system. This has taken years of hard work and dedication from a very committed team to ensure that history was made and is a huge win for bird species affected by collisions with powerlines. The system will enable utilities to mark power lines in a more cost-effective way from now on, which will save millions of Rands“.

Lourens Leeuwner, the EWT’s Wildlife and Energy Programme Manager, said: “The successful demonstration of this system is a major milestone for the Strategic Partnership. It simply would not have been possible without the assistance of the Eskom North West Operating Unit and the many individuals from Eskom’s Live work department who took time out of their busy schedules to assist us on the day.”

The Eskom/EWT strategic partnership is an example of what can be achieved when business and conservationists work together towards a common goal to address electricity infrastructure impacts on wildlife in South Africa for the last 24 years.

The Endangered Wildlife Trust set out to become a legal, commercial drone operator in South Africa in 2017. The non-profit, corporate, and commercial use of drones is regulated by the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA), and organisations looking to operate within the legal framework enforced by the SACAA must obtain an RPAS Operating Certificate (ROC). Getting an ROC is quite onerous in terms of the various licences, registrations, and certifications an organisation must acquire – so much so that, unfortunately, many drone pilots are put off by this process and choose to operate illegally.

Should you require the services of the EWT’s drone unit for any of the activities listed above, please contact our RPAS Operations Manager, Lourens Leeuwner (lourensl@ewt.org.za ). Our RPAS are always ready to take flight for conservation.

Technology taking conservation to new heights

TECHNOLOGY TAKING CONSERVATION TO NEW HEIGHTS

Matt Pretorius, Wildlife and Energy Senior Field Officer and RPAS pilot, mattp@ewt.org.za Whether used as toys or tools, drones are no longer a novelty. Coupled with advances in artificial intelligence (AI), drones now have a role to play in most industries, and the scope of our imagination is the only limitation. Drones deliver much-needed medicine to remote communities; scan compromised infrastructure for survivors during emergency disaster response; facilitate smart agriculture; and drop small explosives for the controlled triggering of avalanches, as just a few examples. Of course, there are more sinister potential uses for drones, from spying on your neighbour to so-called ‘slaughterbots’ – terrifying autonomous microdrone assassins with Artificial Intelligence for facial recognition. The latter may sound far-fetched; however, the line between science and science fiction may not be so cut-and-dry when it comes to drones.

Imagine what this technology could mean for conservation? Well, in truth, it has already shaped the future of our industry. Drones have been used in various scientific studies, from detecting rare animals and counting colony-nesting birds to mapping habitats and creating 3D scans of trees. The main practical advantage of a drone is its ability to go places that humans and their traditional modes of transport can’ t, and the most significant benefit is that it can safely perform the same tasks by eliminating the need for people to get into dangerous situations. For people working in conservation, these benefits apply not only to airborne activities but also to those conducted in places that are hazardous for humans.

Perhaps one of the best recent examples came in early 2020 when an Endangered Griffon Vulture was killed when she collided with a power line in Israel. Conservationists monitoring the chick she had been rearing needed to find a safe way of feeding it in its mountain top nest, which was completely inaccessible on the cliff face. With the help of a technology start-up and the military, a ‘mama drone’ was deployed to deliver food to the chick, effectively rearing it until it fledged successfully. While the benefit of using the drone was significant in terms of human safety, the project ticked another box: eliminating the need to take the bird out of its natural environment to save it.

But how do wild animals respond to these flying intruders? Is it ethical to use a drone to get close to an animal when it results in a stress response? Perhaps the better question is whether using a drone is less or more detrimental to the animal than current/traditional methods. These questions must be considered before undertaking any new conservation project using drone technology.

In South Africa, drone systems are formally known as remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS). Realising the variety of use cases for RPAS in conservation, the Endangered Wildlife Trust set out to become a legal drone operator in South Africa in 2017. The non-profit, corporate, and commercial use of drones is regulated by the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA), and organisations looking to operate within the legal framework enforced by the SACAA must obtain an RPAS Operating Certificate (ROC). Getting an ROC is quite onerous in terms of the various licences, registrations, and certifications an organisation must acquire – so much so that, unfortunately, many drone pilots are put off by this process and choose to operate illegally. The long road to obtaining an ROC culminates in a base inspection and a demonstration of operational competency. We were delighted to have passed ours in December 2020 and received our ROC in January 2021 (ROC # G1397D). An ROC holder can only operate within its operational specification, which defines the general parameters of when, where, and how it can operate its RPAS. In addition to this, a letter of intent to the SACAA, the first step of the ROC process, further specifies the activities and services a ROC holder can provide. Thus, when we started the ROC process in 2017, we had to think very carefully about all the possible applications that would fit our mandate as a conservation organisation and the uses for RPAS that would benefit the EWT in general. In the end, we opted to keep the services listed on our letter of intent broad enough to encompass a wide variety of conservation activities:

Surveys for birds, bird nests, and mammals for conservation purposes.
Topographical and vegetation surveys.
Provide aerial support to conservation teams during operations.
Assist authorities in locating injured animals, carcasses, poisoning, and poaching incidents.
Inspect and photograph electrical infrastructure for maintenance and survey purposes.
Use RPAS to elevate telemetry antenna to locate wildlife fitted with tracking devices.
Attach anti-collision devices to linear electrical infrastructure (using a system developed with the help of Eskom-Research, Development and Testing)
Operational assistance during electrical infrastructure maintenance.
Aerial photography and videography.
Assisting specialists with surveys relating to Environmental Impact Assessments and related audits.

We were pleased to have the opportunity to put our tech to good use in January when we provided aerial imagery support to the Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (GDARD) for the continuous monitoring of a Hippopotamus seen moving in and around residential areas in northern Johannesburg. The EWT worked with the conservation authorities to locate and monitor the Hippo’s movements to ensure that it made its way to less populated areas safely, without coming into conflict with the area’s residents.

Should you require the services of the EWT’s drone unit for any of the activities listed above, please get in contact with our RPAS Operations Manager, Lourens Leeuwner (lourensl@ewt.org.za). Our RPAS are always ready to take flight for conservation.

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