Helping rhinos from space

Official figures suggest this year will be the deadliest yet for rhinos, breaking the 2013 record of 1004 deaths from poaching. A new idea using space telescope technology could help rangers in their difficult fight against illegal hunters.

Three students from Cranfield University in the UK are drawing on high-resolution imaging technology originally developed for space telescopes, using it in an unmanned aerial vehicle, or UAV, to help rangers in their battle against poachers.

“Our proposal intends to develop lightweight and autonomous UAVs for observing in two main sectors: wildlife conservation, and search and rescue,” explained Idriss Sisaid. He and fellow students Enrique Garcia Bourne and Edward Anastassacos won this year’s Space Solutions University (S2UN) Challenge, set by ESA’s Technology Transfer Programme Office.

With the ESA-patented technology “Imaging Optics and Optical Device for Mapping a Curved Image Field”, the team’s Horus project could produce realtime aerial imagery at a lower cost and offer greater responsiveness than existing alternatives. 

More here