Alaska Archives - RotorDrone

Eco-Friendly Multirotors — Keeping watch over endangered Alaskan sea otters

The beach was clear of ice and snow, and the gray rocks and gravel were drying in the warm sun. Nearby grass was showing hints of green, early for this Alaska spring. Drifting on its back in Kachemak Bay, near the town of Homer, Alaska, a sea otter ate morsels of food that it had […]

Drones & Conservation: Monitoring Arctic Sea Ice

Flying the Ptarmigan hexacopter in challenging conditions Springtime in northern Alaska is the right time for a whale hunt. Vast sheets of sea ice crumble together into huge masses that grind into the ocean floor, anchoring it for a time. To get to open water to hunt whales, Inupiat whaling crews will break miles of […]

Drones in Alaska: The Modern Blanket Toss

Drones in the Alaska Classroom On a dirt runway 60 miles outside of Fairbanks, Alaska, Wally Flynn kneels over a DJI Phantom drone. He checks its gimbals, notes the conditions of the propellers and the camera attachment, listens for any alert sounds, and backs away. At each step, he recites what he has just done, […]

Alaska researchers study sea otters with unmanned aircraft

This is a very good use of a multirotor by researchers. by Sue Mitchell Watching marine life to gather data about behavior and abundance can be tedious and time-consuming for researchers, but recent studies indicate unmanned aircraft may offer a way around such obstacles. University of Alaska Fairbanks scientists conducted two field studies to see […]