Learnings from the US Department of Interior's Drone Program - Renee Bartolo Team Leader - Ecosystem Restoration & Landform Group
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Learnings from the US Department of
Interior’s Drone Program
Renee Bartolo
Team Leader – Ecosystem Restoration & Landform Group
Chief Remote Pilot
E: renee.bartolo@environment.gov.au
Presentation to NT Drones Network Seminar: 12th December 2019
Outline • Supervising Scientist Branch applications • Learning from the USA and how they apply to the Australian context • Other SSB learnings and what next
Supervising Scientist
Ranger uranium mine and
ecological restoration
• Operations to cease in 2021 and rehabilitation works are to be completed
by January 2026.
• 950 ha of ecological restoration.
• Close out is expected to take decades.
Environmental Requirements (ERs)
ER 2.1 …to establish an environment similar to the adjacent areas of
Kakadu National Park such that…the rehabilitated area could be
incorporated into Kakadu National Park
ER 2.2(a) …revegetation of the disturbed sites of the Ranger Project Area using local native plant
species similar in density and abundance to those existing in adjacent areas of Kakadu National
Park, to form an ecosystem the long term viability of which would not require a maintenance
regime significantly different from that appropriate to adjacent areas of the park
What we use drones for • Ranger rehabilitation standard & closure criteria • Monitoring • Scaling between datasets • WHS-doing jobs where there is risk to people
230 ha 45 mins flight time 1013 photographs
Early learnings • Environmental factors • WHS • Regulatory requirements • People/pilots • Fleet and pilot management system, • More recently, making sure your budget covers area approvals
Current SSB platforms, sensors and software
Monitoring billabong turbidity
Jabiluka Billabong Djarr Djarr/Kelly’s Billabong Wirnmyurr Billabong
December 2014 October 2013 December 2014
December 2014
Phantom 4 Pro
Using flowers to identify understorey species
Spermacoce stenophylla Gomphrena canescens
Height Pixel count Height Pixel count per
(m) per flower (m) flower (approx.)
(approx.)
5 900 5 400
10 120 10 80
20 30 20 20
30 25 30Comparison of TLS and ALS 15 March 2018
Trial Landform: LiDAR for assessing ecosystem establishment and erosion
Learnings from the USA
US Department of Interior
• 9 bureaus and 70,000 people
• USGS, Bureaus of Land Management, Reclamation,
Indian Affairs, Safety and Environmental Enforcement,
National Park Service, US Fish & Wildlife Service, Office
of Surface Mining, Ocean Energy Management
• Over 600 drones
• USGS- National UAS Project Office
(NUPO)
• lead the safe, efficient, cost-effective and leading-edge
investigation of the potential uses for UAS technology
in scientific research activities for the USGS and the
Department of the Interior.NUPO – activities and research
• Goal: Implement UAS as a common tool for scientific research and
operational activities
o UAS Operator Training for the USGS
o Sensor Integration, Testing and Approval
o Develop Data Processing Techniques & Best Practices
o Perform Proof-of-Concept Missions
o Inventory and Operator Qualifications Management
• Q-Cam
• Urban Forest project
• Fossil sites
• Ground truth for 3DEPs programPolicy
• DOI Operational Procedures Memorandum (OPM) – 11
• Policy should include:
• Links to existing legislation and policies- eg: CASA CASR Part 101, WHS Act
• Risk analysis processes – eg: risk registers
• Interactions with wildlife and ecologically sensitive habitats – eg: policy operating in national parks and the EPBC
Act 1999
• Procurement and impending registration – does this get managed centrally?
• Data management
• IT Security
• Inventory management – how is the fleet managed
especially with respect to reporting processes
• Contracting requirements – end product contract
specifications. Training requirements for staff
• Privacy requirements – eg: Operation of RPA will only be
conducted where the Department has jurisdiction or permission
from land owners.
• Fitness for duty
• Accident and incident reporting
• Requirements for engaging contractors – who you engage
(eg: primary ReOC holder)Cybersecurity • American Drone Security Act - ban the Federal procurement of certain drones • 15 month testing program – DJI ‘Government Edition’
Privacy • In the US, privacy and drones is covered by a Presidential memorandum • No such laws or requirements apply in Australia at federal level
Training programs
• DOI training includes:
• General aviation
• 4 day drone course- theory and practical and then you are carded to fly
drones
• Night operations
• BVLOS
• Advanced mission planning
• Image analysis
• Operational compared with programmatic risksFleet and pilot management systems • Easy to extract data for CASA annual census/survey • Safety reporting and recognition of trends- can send out safety alerts • We use Skyward but there are other systems • Online – enables CRP to authorize flights from anywhere • Can record flights in the field and sync when in range • Store pilot documentation
Connecting your drone community • Community of Practice • Safety share • Update on CASA regulations and rules • Update on the Department’s RPA policy • Update on systems for management of RPA in the Department • Presentation from a Branch either using or proposing to use RPA • Open discussion • Informal monthly meetings at the pub • NT Drones Network – facilitated by the NT Government. Cooperation is critical • US Federal UAS users workshops/meetings
Partnering with industry
Ground Penetrating Radar
Photo: USGSPlatforms, sensors and data processing • The right tool for the right job -you may only need a Parrot Anafi to do compliance jobs. • Everybody wants to fly a DJI M600, but do you need to? • Rapid evolution/innovation • Data processing – well documented workflows are necessary • In the USGS, they run a data processing workshop using an expert.
Calibration
• Important for repeatability and quantitative applications. Sensors do
not meet the manufacturer specs so need to test and calibrate
yourself
• Panels – range of reflectivity
Pagnutti, 2019
Photo: Group 8 TechnologySpatial accuracy • Aeropoints (2/10 duds) • PPK, RTK - sometimes it seems you need to be a surveyor. • Cones for LiDAR
BVLOS operations • DOI are able to conduct BVLOS operations under a Certificate of Waiver or Authorisation (COA) - blanket approval • CASA require operators to use a SORA (Specific Operations Risk Assessment) when preparing to submit an operation for approval • Quantitative method for assessing the Operation • Airspace utilisation • Stakeholder engagement plan • Level 1 – 6 Level 1 = remote airspace, low population density (
Other SSB learnings: working with foreign pilots/researchers • TERN research in supersites in the NT and Qld (September 2018) • Researchers/pilots from Belgium and the Netherlands • Worked with CASA to put components in Operations Manual and Procedures to enable foreign pilots to undertake research or demonstrations under our ReOC.
What next? • BVLOS operations using VTOL- LiDAR and eventually hyperspectral - Contract finalized - $330K • Currently assessing water sample collection. • AI and cloud based work flows- assessing work flows in MS Azure
https://www.earthobsforum.org/
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