Wildlife Monitoring at FAA UAS Test Site Begins with Aeryon Scout

The Aeryon Scout™ has been selected as the small Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) to perform the wildlife surveys during the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) Pan-Pacific test flight operations which began this week.

The FAA has granted the UAF a Certificate of Authorization (COA) to conduct authorized flights using the Aeryon Scout to collect images and data that will validate how a sUAS can be used to accurately locate, identify and count large animal populations within the University of Alaska Fairbanks Large Animal Research Station (LARS). The data collected will also be used to develop standards for operating in close proximity to airports in all UAF test locations – Alaska, Oregon and Hawaii.

There are many examples of how sUAS are changing how people do their jobs – improving speed, productivity and accuracy of results for a wide range of commercial and public safety applications. In many industries, such as wildlife management, sUAS will improve the accuracy of population counts and other data collection because of their quiet operation and ability to fly at lower altitudes and in harsh weather conditions.

“The UAF has consistently demonstrated the benefits of using systems like the Aeryon Scout to assist public agencies and private companies with very important and complex projects in challenging conditions”, comments Dave Kroetsch, Aeryon President & CEO. “We know that the test flights with Scout will help show the value of using sUAS in situations where there are many variables to consider.”

Field-tested and mission-proven, the Aeryon Scout is an easy-to-use, battery powered, unmanned aerial intelligence gathering system. Scout can be flown by anyone with only a few minutes of training due to its simple point-and-click navigation and camera control systems. Fully stabilized and weather-sealed, Scout can fly anywhere, anytime in the most demanding weather and wind conditions.

Examples of how the UAF has successfully used the Aeryon Scout in environmental monitoring applications include:

• Wildlife study of Steller sea lions in the Bering Sea in partnership with NOAA
• Pipeline monitoring research and oil spill response preparation with BP Alaska
• Monitoring Chinook Salmon populations with Idaho Power Company’s Environmental Department

For more information about Aeryon sUAS, visit Booth #2253 at AUVSI’s Unmanned Systems 2014, May 13th-15th or www.aeryon.com