Lian Pin Koh: A drone's-eye view of conservation

Prevodilac: Aleksandra Kovačević Lektor: Mile Živković

When we think of Nepal,

Kada pomislimo na Nepal

we tend to think of the snow-capped mountains

obično pomislimo na planine Himalaja

of the Himalayas,

prekrivene snegom

the crystal-clear still waters of its alpine lakes,

na kristalno čiste stajaće vode njihovih alpskih jezera

or the huge expanse of its grasslands.

ili na ogromna prostranstva njihovih pašnjaka.

What some of us may not realize

Ono što možda neki od nas ne shvataju

is that in the Himalayan foothills,

je to da u podnožju Himalaja,

where the climate is much warmer

gde je klima dosta toplija

and the landscape much greener,

i pejzaž zeleniji,

there lives a great diversity of wildlife,

živi mnogo vrsta divljih životinja,

including the one-horned rhinoceros,

uključujući i jednorogog nosoroga,

the Asian elephant

azijskog slona,

and the Bengal tiger.

i bengalskog tigra.

But unfortunately, these animals

Ali nažalost, ove životinje

are under constant threat from poachers

su u neprestanoj opasnosti od lovokradica

who hunt and kill them for their body parts.

koji ih love i ubijaju zbog delova tela.

To stop the killing of these animals,

Kako bi sprečili ubijanje ovih životinja,

battalions of soldiers and rangers

bataljoni vojnika i rendžera

are sent to protect Nepal's national parks,

šalju se da čuvaju nacionalni park Nepal,

but that is not an easy task,

ali to nije lak zadatak,

because these soldiers have to patrol

jer ovi vojnici moraju da obilaze

thousands of hectares of forests on foot

hiljade hektara šuma peške

or elephant backs.

ili na slonovima.

It is also risky for these soldiers

Takođe je opasno za ove vojnike

when they get into gunfights with poachers,

kada uđu u vatreni okršaj sa lovokradicama,

and therefore Nepal is always looking

i zbog toga Nepal uvek traga

for new ways to help with protecting the forests

za novim načinima da pomogne u očuvanju šuma

and wildlife.

i životinjskog i biljnog sveta.

Well recently, Nepal acquired a new tool

Nepal je nedavno nabavio novo oružje

in the fight against wildlife crime,

u borbi protiv zločina prema životinjama,

and these are drones,

a to su dronovi,

or more specifically, conservation drones.

tačnije, konzervacioni dronovi.

For about a year now, my colleagues and I

Sad već oko godinu dana, moje kolege i ja

have been building drones for Nepal

pravimo dronove za Nepal

and training the park protection personnel

i obučavamo ljude koji čuvaju park

on the use of these drones.

kako da koriste ove dronove.

Not only does a drone give you

Dron ne samo da vam omogućava

a bird's-eye view of the landscape,

sliku predela iz ptičje perspektive,

but it also allows you to capture detailed,

već i omogućava detaljne slike

high-resolution images of objects on the ground.

visoke rezolucije objekata na zemlji.

This, for example, is a pair of rhinoceros

Ovde, na primer, vidimo jedan par nosoroga

taking a cooling bath on a hot summer day

kako se hlade u vodi po vrelom letnjem danu

in the lowlands of Nepal.

u nizini Nepala.

Now we believe that drones have

Verujemo da dronovi imaju

tremendous potential,

ogroman potencijal

not only for combating wildlife crime,

ne samo u borbi protiv zločina prema životinjama,

but also for monitoring the health

već i za nadgledanje zdravlja

of these wildlife populations.

ove populacije životinja.

So what is a drone?

Dakle, šta je to dron?

Well, the kind of drone I'm talking about

Pa, vrsta drona o kojoj ja govorim

is simply a model aircraft

je jednostavno maketa letelice

fitted with an autopilot system,

opremljena autopilotskim sistemom,

and this autopilot unit contains a tiny computer,

i ta autopilotska jedinica ima sićušni kompjuter,

a GPS, a compass, a barometric altimeter

GPS, kompas, barometarski visinomer

and a few other sensors.

i nekoliko drugih senzora.

Now a drone like this

Ovakav dron,

is meant to carry a useful payload,

predviđen je da nosi neki koristan teret,

such as a video camera

kao što je video kamera

or a photographic camera.

ili fotoaparat.

It also requires a software that allows the user

Potreban mu je i softver koji omogućava korisniku

to program a mission,

da programira misiju,

to tell the drone where to go.

da govori dronu kuda da ide.

Now people I talk to are often surprised

Ljudi sa kojima ja razgovaram obično su iznenađeni

when they hear that these are the only

kada čuju da su ovo jedine četiri komponente

four components that make a conservation drone,

koje čine konzervacioni dron,

but they are even more surprised

a još više su iznenađeni

when I tell them how affordable these components are.

kada im kažem koliko su ove komponente dostupne.

The facts is, a conservation drone

Istina je da konzervaconi dron

doesn't cost very much more than

ne košta puno više

a good laptop computer

od nekog dobrog laptop komjutera

or a decent pair of binoculars.

ili dobrog dvogleda.

So now that you've built your own conservation drone,

I sad kada sagradite sopstveni konzervacioni dron,

you probably want to go fly it,

verovatno da biste hteli da letite njime,

but how does one fly a drone?

međutim, kako se upravlja dronom?

Well, actually, you don't,

Pa, u stvari, i ne upravlja se,

because the drone flies itself.

jer dron sam leti.

All you have to do is to program a mission

Sve što vi treba da uradite je da programirate misiju

to tell the drone where to fly.

koja govori dronu kuda da leti.

But you simply do that by clicking on

A to jednostavno uradite tako što kliknete

a few way points on the Google Maps interface

na nekoliko tačaka na interfejsu Gugl mape

using the open-source software.

koristeći softver otvorenog koda.

Those missions could be as simple

Ove misije mogu biti jednostavne

as just a few way points,

kada ima samo nekoliko tačaka,

or they could be slightly longer and more complicated,

ili mogu biti nešto duže i složenije

to fly along a river system.

kada se leti duž vodenog sistema.

Sometimes, we fly the drone in a lawnmower-type pattern

Ponekad spustimo dron da leti vrlo nisko

and take pictures of that area,

i fotografiše taj predeo,

and those pictures can be processed

i te fotografije se mogu obraditi

to produce a map of that forest.

da se dobije mapa te šume.

Other researchers might want to fly the drone

Drugi istraživači bi možda hteli da lete dronom

along the boundaries of a forest

duž oboda šume

to watch out for poachers or people

i motre na lovokradice ili ljude

who might be trying to enter the forest illegally.

koji možda pokušavaju da nelegalno uđu u šumu.

Now whatever your mission is,

Šta god da je vaša misija,

once you've programmed it,

kada je jednom programirate,

you simply upload it to the autopilot system,

jednostavno je postavite na autopilotski sistem,

bring your drone to the field,

postavite svoj dron na polje

and launch it simply by tossing it in the air.

i lansirate ga tako što ga prosto bacite u vazduh.

And often we'll go about this mission

I često ćemo i krenuti na ovu misiju

taking pictures or videos along the way,

da bismo fotografisali ili snimali usput,

and usually at that point,

i obično tada,

we will go grab ourselves a cup of coffee,

uzmemo šolju kafe,

sit back, and relax for the next few minutes,

zavalimo se i opustimo nekoliko minuta,

although some of us sit back and panic for the next few minutes

mada neki od nas se zavale i paniče tih nekoliko minuta

worrying that the drone will not return.

jer se brinemo da se dron neće vratiti.

Usually it does, and when it does,

Obično se vrati, i kada se to desi,

it even lands automatically.

obično sleti automatski.

So what can we do with a conservation drone?

Dakle, šta sve možemo raditi sa konzervacionim dronom?

Well, when we built our first prototype drone,

Kada smo sagradili naš prvi prototip drona,

our main objective was to fly it over

naš glavni cilj bio je da preleti

a remote rainforest in North Sumatra, Indonesia,

preko udaljene tropske šume u Severnoj Sumatri, u Indoneziji,

to look for the nest of a species of great ape

i da traga za gnezdom bezrepog majmuna

known as the orangutan.

poznatom kao orangutan.

The reason we wanted to do that was because

Ovo smo želeli da uradimo

we needed to know how many individuals

jer smo morali da znamo koliko je pripadnika te vrste

of this species are still left in that forest.

još ostalo u toj šumi.

Now the traditional method of surveying

Tradicionalni metod potrage za orangutanima

for orangutans is to walk the forest on foot

je pešačenje kroz šumu

carrying heavy equipment

sa teškom opremom

and to use a pair of binoculars to look up in the treetops

i sa dvogledom kako biste videli i krošnje

where you might find an orangutan or its nest.

u kojima možete naći orangutana ili njegovo gnezdo.

Now as you can imagine,

Kao što možete zamisliti,

that is a very time-consuming, labor-intensive,

ovo je vrlo dugotrajan, mučan

and costly process,

i skup proces,

so we were hoping that drones

stoga smo se nadali da bi dronovi

could significantly reduce the cost of surveying

mogli znatno da smanje troškove potrage

for orangutan populations in Indonesia

za populacijom orangutana u Indoneziji

and elsewhere in Southeast Asia.

i drugde u jugoistočnoj Aziji.

So we were very excited when we captured

Bili smo vrlo uzbuđeni kada smo uhvatili na kameri

our first pair of orangutan nests on camera.

naš prvi par gnezda orangutana.

And this is it; this is the first ever picture

I evo; ovo je prva fotografija gnezda orangutana

of orangutan nests taken with a drone.

koju je snimio dron.

Since then we have taken pictures

Od tada fotografisali smo

of dozens of these nests

na desetine ovakvih gnezda

from around various parts of Southeast Asia,

iz raznih delova jugoistočne Azije,

and we're now working with computer scientists

i trenutno sarađujemo sa kompjuterskim naučnicima

to develop algorithms that can automatically count

kako bismo razvili algoritam koji automatski detektuje

the number of nests from the thousands

broj gnezda sa hiljade slika

of photos we've collected so far.

koje smo dosad sakupili.

But nests are not the only objects

Ali gnezda nisu jedine stvari

these drones can detect.

koje dronovi mogu da detektuju.

This is a wild orangutan

Ovo je divlji orangutan

happily feeding on top of a palm tree,

koji se bezbrižno hrani na krošnji palminog drveta,

seemingly oblivious to our drone that was flying overhead,

naizgled nesvestan našeg drona koji je leteo iznad,

not once but several times.

ne jedanput nego više puta.

We've also taken pictures of other animals

Fotografisali smo i druge životinje

including forest buffalos in Gabon,

uključujući i šumskog bizona u Gabonu,

elephants, and even turtle nests.

slonove, čak i gnezda kornjača.

But besides taking pictures of just the animals themselves,

Ali pored fotografisanja samih životinja,

we also take pictures of the habitats these animals live in,

fotogafisali smo i staništa u kojima ove životinje žive

because we want to keep track

jer želimo da pratimo

of the health of these habitats.

koliko su zdrava ta staništa.

Sometimes, we zoom out a little

Ponekad malo odzumiramo

and look at other things that might be happening

i posmatramo druge stvari koje se dešavaju

in the landscape.

na tom predelu.

This is an oil palm plantation in Sumatra.

Ovo je plantaža palminog ulja na Sumatri.

Now oil palm is a major driver of deforestation

Palmino ulje je glavni uzrok krčenja šuma

in that part of the world,

u tom delu sveta,

so we wanted to use this new drone technology

pa smo hteli da iskoristimo novu tehnologiju dronova

to keep track of the spread of these plantations

da pratimo širenje ovih plantaža

in Southeast Asia.

u jugoistočnoj Aziji.

But drones could also be used to keep track of

Ali dronovi bi takođe mogli da se koriste za praćenje

illegal logging activities.

nelegalne seče drveća.

This is a recently logged forest,

Ova šuma je skoro posečena,

again in Sumatra.

opet na Sumatri.

You could even still see the processed

Možete čak da vidite

wooden planks left on the ground.

obrađene daske drveta na zemlji.

But perhaps the most exciting part

Međutim, možda je najuzbudljiviji deo

about taking pictures from the air is

fotografisanja iz vazduha

we could later stitch these pictures together

taj što kasnije možemo da spojimo te slike

using special software to create a map

uz pomoć specijalnog softvera i napravimo mapu

of the entire landscape, and this map

čitavog predela, i ova mapa

gives us crucial information

nam daje presudnu informaciju

for monitoring land use change,

za nadgledanje promene namene zamljišta,

to let us know where and when plantations might be expanding,

obaveštava nas gde i kada se plantaže proširuju,

where forests might be contracting,

gde se šume smanjuju,

or where fires might be breaking out.

ili gde se javljaju požari

Aerial images could also be processed

Slike iz vazduha se takođe mogu obraditi

to produce three-dimensional

kako bi se dobio trodimenzionalni

computer models of forests.

kompjuterski model šume.

Now these models are not just visually appealing,

Ovi modeli nisu samo primamljivi za oko,

but they are also geometrically accurate,

već su i geometrijski precizni,

which means researchers can now measure

što znači da istraživači sada mogu da mere

the distance between trees,

razdaljinu između drveća,

calculate surface area, the volume of vegetation,

računaju površinu oblasti, gustinu vegetacije,

and so on, all of which are important information

i tako dalje, sve informacije koje su bitne

for monitoring the health of these forests.

za nadgledanje zdravlja ovih šuma.

Recently, we've also begun experimenting

Nedavno smo takođe počeli da eksperimentišemo

with thermal imaging cameras.

sa termalnim kamerama.

Now these cameras can detect

Ove kamere mogu da opaze

heat-emitting objects from the ground,

objekte koji emituju toplotu sa zemlje,

and therefore they are very useful for detecting poachers or their campfires at night.

i stoga su vrlo korisne za otkrivanje lovokradica ili vatre koju pale noću.

So I've told you quite a lot about

Pa, rekao sam vam dosta toga

what conservation drones are,

o tome šta su konzervacioni dronovi,

how you might operate one of these drones,

kako možete upravljati njima,

and what a drone could do for you.

i šta dron može učiniti za vas.

I will now tell you where conservation drones

Sada ću vam reći gde se koriste

are being used around the world.

konzervacioni dronovi širom sveta.

We built our first prototype drones in Switzerland.

Sagradili smo naše prve prototipske dronove u Švajcarskoj.

We brought a few of these to Indonesia

Doneli smo nekoliko tih u Indoneziju

for the first few test flights.

za prve testove letenja.

Since then, we've been building drones

Od tada gradimo dronove

for our collaborators from around the world,

za naše saradnike širom sveta,

and these include fellow biologists

a među njima su kolege biolozi

and partners from major conservation organizations.

i partneri iz glavnih organizacija za očuvanje.

Perhaps the best and most rewarding part

Jedna od možda najboljih i najisplativijih stvari

about working with these collaborators

u radu sa ovim saradnicima

is the feedback they give us

su povratne informacije koje nam daju

on how to improve our drones.

o tome kako da unapredimo naše dronove.

Building drones for us is

Pravljenje dronova za nas

a constant work in progress.

predstavlja neprekidan rad.

We are constantly trying to improve them in terms of

Neprekidno pokušavamo da ih usavršimo u pogledu

their range, their ruggedness,

dometa, stabilnosti,

and the amount of payload they can carry.

i količine tereta koji mogu da nose.

We also work with collaborators

Takođe radimo sa saradnicima

to discover new ways of using these drones.

kako bismo otkrili nove načine da iskoristimo ove dronove.

For example, camera traps are a common tool

Na primer, skrivene kamere su opšte poznate

used by biologists to take pictures of shy animals

među biolozima kada fotografišu povučene životinje

hiding in the forests,

koje se kriju u šumi,

but these are motion-activated cameras,

ali ove kamere su osetljive na pokret,

so they snap a picture every time an animal

tako da slikaju svaki put kada se neka životinja

crosses their path.

nađe na njihovom putu.

But the problem with camera traps

Međutim, problem sa skrivenim kamerama

is that the researcher has to go back to the forest

je taj što istraživač mora da se vraća u šumu

every so often to retrieve those images,

s vremena na vreme kako bi preuzeo slike,

and that takes a lot of time,

i za to je potrebno dosta vremena,

especially if there are dozens

posebno ako ima na desetine

or hundreds of these cameras placed in the forest.

ili stotine ovakvih kamera koje su postavljene u šumi.

Now a drone could be designed to perform the task

Dron može biti napravljen tako da izvede zadatak

much more efficiently.

mnogo efikasnije.

This drone, carrying a special sensor,

Ovaj dron, koji nosi poseban senzor,

could be flown over the forest

može preletati preko šume

and remotely download these images

i skidati slike sa daljine

from wi-fi–enabled cameras.

sa kamera kojima je povezan bežičnim internetom.

Radio collars are another tool

Okovratnik za praćenje je još jedna alatka

that's commonly used by biologists.

koju biolozi obično koriste.

Now these collars are put onto animals.

Ovi okovratnici se stavljaju životinjama

They transmit a radio signal which allows

i odašilju radio signal zahvaljujući kom

the researcher to track the movements of these animals across the landscape.

istraživači prate pokrete ovih životinja po čitavom predelu.

But the traditional way of tracking animals

A tradicionalan način praćenja životinja

is pretty ridiculous,

je prilično smešan,

because it requires the researcher to be walking

jer zahteva da istraživač ide peške

on the ground carrying a huge and cumbersome radio antenna,

noseći veliku i glomaznu radio antenu

not unlike those old TV antennae we used to have

sličnu onim starim TV antenama koje smo držali na krovovima.

on our rooftops. Some of us still do.

Neki od nas ih drže i dan danas.

A drone could be used to do the same job

Dron se može iskoristiti za isti posao

much more efficiently.

mnogo efikasnije.

Why not equip a drone

Zašto ne bismo opremili dron

with a scanning radio receiver,

sa radio prijemnikom za skeniranje,

fly that over the forest canopy

i pustili ga da leti iznad šumskih krovova

in a certain pattern

po određenom šablonu

which would allow the user or the operator

koji bi omogućio korisniku ili rukovaocu

to triangulate the location

da triangulira lokaciju

of these radio-collared animals remotely

ovih životinja sa okovratnicima za daljinsko praćenje,

without having to step foot in the forest.

a da pri tom ne moraju ni da zakorače u šumu.

A third and perhaps most exciting way

Treći i možda najuzbudljiviji način

of using these drones

da se iskoriste ovi dronovi

is to fly them to a really remote,

je da ih pustimo u neku stvarno udaljenu,

never-explored-before rainforest

do sad neistraženu tropsku šumu

somewhere hidden in the tropics,

skrivenu negde oko povratnika,

and parachute down a tiny spy microphone

i padobranom spustimo sićušni špijunski mikrofon

that would allow us to eavesdrop on the calls

koji bi nam omogućio da prisluškujemo dozivanja

of mammals, birds, amphibians,

sisara, ptica, vodozemaca,

the Yeti, the Sasquatch, Bigfoot, whatever.

Jetija, Saskvoča, Bigfuta, koga god.

That would give us biologists

To bi nama biolozima dalo

a pretty good idea of what animals

ideju o tome koje sve životinje

might be living in those forests.

žive u tim šumama.

And finally, I would like to show you

I na kraju, želeo bih da vam pokažem

the latest version of our conservation drone.

poslednju verziju našeg konzervacionog drona.

The MAJA drone has a wingspan

MAJA dron ima raspon krila

of about two meters.

od oko dva metra.

It weighs only about two kilograms,

Teži svega oko dva kilograma,

but it can carry half its weight.

ali može da nosi polovinu svoje težine.

It is a fully autonomous system.

Ima potpuno autonoman sistem.

During its mission, it can even transmit

Tokom misije može čak da uspostavi

a live video feed back to a ground station laptop,

direktan prenos sa laptopom koji je povezan sa satelitom,

which allows the user

i omogućava korisniku

to see what the drone is seeing in real time.

da vidi ono što dron vidi u realnom vremenu.

It carries a variety of sensors,

Nosi razne senzore,

and the photo quality of some of these sensors

i kvalitet fotografije nekih senzora

can be as high as one to two centimeters per pixel.

može biti centimetar do dva po pikselu.

This drone can stay in the air for 40 to 60 minutes,

Ovaj dron može ostati u vazduhu od 40 do 60 minuta,

which gives it a range of up to 50 kilometers.

što mu daje raspon do 50 kilometara.

That is quite sufficient for most

Ovo je sasvim dovoljno

of our conservation applications.

za većinu naših primena u konzervatu.

Now, conservation drones began as

Konzervacioni dronovi su nastali kao

a crazy idea from two biologists

luda zamisao dva biologa

who are just deeply passionate about this technology.

koji su jednostavno obožavali ovu vrstu tehnologije.

And we believe, strongly believe,

I mi verujemo, duboko verujemo,

that drones can and will be a game changer

da dronovi mogu da budu i biće velika prekretnica

for conservation research and applications.

za konzervaciona istraživanja i primene.

We've had our fair share of skeptics and critics

Susreli smo se sa dosta skeptika i kritičara

who thought that we were just fooling around with toy planes.

koji su mislili da se mi samo igramo sa aviončićima.

And in a way, they are right.

I u neku ruku, u pravu su.

I mean, let's be honest,

Mislim, budimo iskreni,

drones are the ultimate toys for boys.

dronovi su vrhunske igračke za dečake.

But at the same time, we've also gotten to know

Ali istovremeno, upoznali smo

many wonderful colleagues and collaborators

puno divnih kolega i saradnika

who share our vision

koji dele našu zamisao

and see the potential of conservation drones.

i vide potencijal konzervacionih dronova.

To us, it is obvious that conservation biologists

Nama je očigledno da konzervacioni biolozi

and practitioners should make full use

i praktičari treba da maksimalno iskoriste

of every available tool, including drones,

svaki alat koji je dostupan, uključujući dronove,

in our fight to save the last remaining forests

u borbi da sačuvaju poslednje preostale šume

and wildlife of this planet.

i životinjski svet ove planete.

Thank you.

Hvala vam.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)