When most people think of drones, they may think of Amazon’s announcement to deliver their packages with drones, or, on the darker side, the use of these remote controlled vehicles (RUVs) in the military. Some may have seen one of their neighbors flying a drone for fun, others may have privacy concerns. What all of the vehicles have in common is that they are either controlled by a ‘pilot’ somewhere on the ground, or a preset flight program.

As it turns out, aerial drones are now also being used in various scientific exploits, including conservation research of whales and dolphins. We collaborate with a local drone pilot to expand our data collection volume and process to count and identify dolphins in real time. And because dolphins spent most of their time below the surface, we are also exploring options for the use of  underwater ROV so we can expand our observations into the underwater world. Together, these efforts will improve our understanding of how dolphins live their lives and what we can do to ensure they continue to around for future generations.

Paul Dabill is an underwater photographer and drone videographer based in Jupiter, Florida. His work focuses on documenting South Florida’s marine life from both above and below the surface. His imagery has been featured by numerous publications, the Discovery Channel and National Geographic, and has contributed to scientific and marine research projects.

To learn more about our drone pilot’s ocean related work, please contact Paul Dabill.