ANDALUSIAN RESEARCHERS WORK ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF CORDLESS TECHNOLOGIES THAT ALLOW ENVIRONMENT CONSERVATION
27 July 2006 - 28 July 2006
Spain
A multidisciplinary group of Andalusian researchers, coordinated by the University of Seville, are studying the development of new technologies that integrate the information coming from wireless sensor networks, unmanned vehicles, planning techniques, and measurement and control specific hardware. The application of these techniques focuses on the preservation of fauna and flora.
This project of excellence has been funded with 150,000 euros by the Andalusian Ministry of Innovation, Science and Enterprise. The leading researcher, Anibal Ollero Baturone, explains that this work started being an ‘ambitious’ interdisciplinary research initiative on the use of technologies of autonomous technologies and systems distributed in wireless sensor networks for monitoring and preserving the environment.
The main specialisation field researchers are focusing on are the preservation of Psilotum nudum, a type of fern considered in Spain to be in ‘critical danger’; monitoring and studying the Spanish imperial eagle’s habitat; and the detection and help to extinguish forest fires.
According to Ollero, ‘in these three cases, and in many other possible applications, it is very important to have real time data and images that allow you to find and observe the evolution of populations (animals and vegetables) and contribute to minimize the impact of disasters such as forest fires’.
More specifically, the idea is to use technologies of wireless sensor networks with low weight and consumption nodes, which integrate sensorial functions, processing capacity and wireless communications. Therefore this includes both fixed and movable nodes transported by vehicles, persons and animals. The research group is specially researching into the integration of said networks with surveillance and monitoring systems based on the use of artificial vision techniques which process images obtained with fixed and movable cameras.
In short, this project of excellence will show the possibilities that unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and unmanned ground vehicles (UGV) have in order to obtain information and as links of communications in difficult-to-access spots.
Indeed, the fast development of wireless sensor networks and the trend to use low cost UAV in civil applications ‘makes the future implementation of these techniques viable’, Anibal Ollero said.
This project of excellence has been funded with 150,000 euros by the Andalusian Ministry of Innovation, Science and Enterprise. The leading researcher, Anibal Ollero Baturone, explains that this work started being an ‘ambitious’ interdisciplinary research initiative on the use of technologies of autonomous technologies and systems distributed in wireless sensor networks for monitoring and preserving the environment.
The main specialisation field researchers are focusing on are the preservation of Psilotum nudum, a type of fern considered in Spain to be in ‘critical danger’; monitoring and studying the Spanish imperial eagle’s habitat; and the detection and help to extinguish forest fires.
According to Ollero, ‘in these three cases, and in many other possible applications, it is very important to have real time data and images that allow you to find and observe the evolution of populations (animals and vegetables) and contribute to minimize the impact of disasters such as forest fires’.
More specifically, the idea is to use technologies of wireless sensor networks with low weight and consumption nodes, which integrate sensorial functions, processing capacity and wireless communications. Therefore this includes both fixed and movable nodes transported by vehicles, persons and animals. The research group is specially researching into the integration of said networks with surveillance and monitoring systems based on the use of artificial vision techniques which process images obtained with fixed and movable cameras.
In short, this project of excellence will show the possibilities that unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and unmanned ground vehicles (UGV) have in order to obtain information and as links of communications in difficult-to-access spots.
Indeed, the fast development of wireless sensor networks and the trend to use low cost UAV in civil applications ‘makes the future implementation of these techniques viable’, Anibal Ollero said.