A 3D printed solar powered drone may play an important role in the battle against poaching.
Project Icarus is a solar UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) pushing the limits of endurance for airframes under 5kg. Icarus 3.0 in its full form will be solar powered and capable of incorporating other power systems, including hydrogen fuel.
An entry in the 2015 Hackaday Prize competition, its creator Toby Lankford has a goal of seeing the plane in service in wildlife refuges around the world as a weapon in the anti-poaching arsenal.
“I wanted to focus this year on promoting drones as a tool for social and environmental good,” he says. “Poaching is an issue that presented itself as the most urgent.”
While the penalties for poaching in some countries are massive, so are the spoils. A kilogram of rhino horn is worth more than a kilogram of gold or cocaine.
Poaching can be a deadly business for all involved. National Parks and Wildlife rangers in Australia tend to be rather non-threatening folks; but their counterparts in some regions of Africa are more akin to soldiers and armed with powerful rifles. Poachers and rangers are regularly killed in gun battles.
The rangers are fighting a losing battle on some fronts. Fewer than 5000 black rhinos exist in the wild. As their numbers dwindle, this further boosts the value of horns and in turn, the threat of black rhino extinction.
Icarus 3.0 could prove to be very effective in monitoring remaining rhino herds and alerting rangers to any suspicious activity; allowing them to better prepare for engagement and perhaps avoid loss of life – both animals and humans.
Assisted by solar cells covering its wings, Icarus 3.0 will have a range of more than 200 km and flight time exceeding 180 minutes. The UAV will be able to carry a payload of 6kg. The craft features custom image recognition software, “Fire and Forget” autonomous mission from launch to recovery and TCP/IP Cloud Control for observation or control from anywhere in the world
” It (poaching) is a problem seeking an immediate solution,” says Mr. Lankford. “We hope that we can be part of that answer with our anti-poaching cloud swarm UAV system.”
The 3d-printed Icarus 3.0 will also be released as an open-source design on Thingiverse; available free of charge to hobbyists.
“While we produce UAV’s commercially, we wanted to give back to the community as well,” says Mr. Lankford.
The 2015 Hackaday Prize competition encourages entrants to “solve a problem that matters”. The first prize is a choice of a trip into space or nearly USD $200,000 in cash.
