DJI has announced a groundbreaking collaboration with ETH Zurich’s Environmental Robotics Lab and Wilderness International to reshape global biodiversity research. This innovative project, launched in March 2024, leverages cutting-edge drone technology to collect environmental data from the heart of inaccessible rainforests. According to Kai Andersch, CEO of Wilderness International, this approach is a game-changer in conservation.
“Deploying drones for biodiversity monitoring and integrating eDNA analysis is a groundbreaking advancement in our field,” Andersch stated. “This method enhances our ability to monitor existing protected areas and holds the promise of uncovering new conservation hotspots.”
Central to this initiative is the DJI Matrice drone, outfitted with a specialized robotic arm developed by ETH Zurich. This advanced system enables the collection of eDNA samples from treetops, which are home to up to 90% of the rainforest’s biodiversity. Since the project’s inception, 36 samples have been gathered from three distinct locations in the Peruvian rainforest, providing invaluable data to support Wilderness International’s conservation efforts.
The project is a collaborative effort involving ETH Zurich for the sampling technology, the Audi Environmental Foundation for financial support, and DJI for drone technology. Additionally, the local research group Fauna Forever provides comparative data from traditional methods to assess the new technique’s effectiveness. Wilderness International is also planning to extend this technology to Canada’s protected areas, where biodiversity data is currently sparse.
This pioneering method has the potential to address critical gaps in global biodiversity research, offering a more efficient and less invasive way to study and protect our planet’s vital ecosystems. For those interested in delving deeper into the study, the publication is available on Science.org.