Aerial drones are seemingly everywhere these days —even in Antarctica. But only on highly regulated missions conducted by scientists who hold pilot certification reflecting months of training. Guy Williams, a polar oceanographer at the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies at the University of Tasmania in Australia, trained for months before he received pilot certification and permission to test several models of aerial drones in polar environments, capturing images that scientists will use to develop satellite tools for mapping changes in sea ice.
Pilot program
Testing the DJI Phantom 2 Vision+ aerial drone from the deck of the research vehicle Nathaniel B. Palmer, in Antarctica. This quadcopter was one of two drone models that polar oceanographer Guy Williams brought on the voyage as part of a pilot program to determine whether the drones could be operated safely in polar environments. (Credit: Guy Williams/Alex Fraser/Eva Cougnon, Courtesy of the U.S. Antarctic Program and National Science Foundation)
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