This technology has many possible applications<\/strong>, and new ideas for the future emerge every day. But we\u2019re not going to talk here of whether a drone will be delivering your pepperoni pizza in 2021. Let\u2019s leave predictions to one side and see what drones are already doing for our planet today<\/strong>. In fact, what they can do to save it.<\/p>\n Every year, industry, agriculture, urbanisation and mining destroy over 26 billion trees, according to figures from the American Geophysical Union. This growing deforestation is associated with pests, hunger and crises, and directly affects many of man\u2019s resources.<\/p>\n While the world debates how to protect the Earth\u2019s forests, a few people are already getting down to work. Lauren Fletcher, a NASA engineer, is already replanting forests worldwide with his drones<\/strong>. The aim is to plant 36,000 seeds per day in difficult-to-reach areas where traditional methods cannot be applied.<\/p>\n His company, BioCarbon Engineering, has developed a system which analyses 3D map data in real time and which remotely pilots an army of drones laden with seeds<\/strong>. They claim that once working at full capacity, they will be able to plant up to a million trees per year. Which is the equivalent of a tenth of Spain\u2019s forest cover.<\/p>\n Deforestation – Wikipedia, author H.J. Sydow<\/p><\/div>\n In the Iberian Peninsula, wildfires devastate thousands of hectares of forest every year. Prevention and rapid response are key to avoiding a repeat of years like 2012, where an area the size of the entire province of Biscay (Vizcaya) was burnt down. With this aim in mind, the Technical University of Madrid (UPM) has designed a system for automatically detecting forest fires<\/a> using drone surveillance, a system which is catching on worldwide.<\/p>\n According to the Spanish researchers, the system is based on a series of algorithms which allow detection of the flames and smoke generated by forest fires<\/strong>, as well as the area affected and wind direction. The algorithms are highly accurate and require little computational capacity, allowing the issue to be tackled in real time through autonomous systems such as drones.<\/p>\n So what we have, in effect, is a continuous monitoring and early warning system to make fire-fighting more efficient.<\/p>\n These two ongoing projects also allow us to distinguish between the various types of aerial drones and their uses. Those used by BioCarbon Engineering are multi-rotors<\/strong>, which allow for a high degree of precision but which at present still have a limited endurance. This is the type of drone most of us will think of: a system with several engines,<\/strong> each fitted with a rotor.<\/p>\n Drones used for surveillance projects, on the other hand, are usually fixed wing drones<\/strong>, almost like small aeroplanes. They can stay in the air for longer (some even work with combustion engines), but are less stable and less precise.<\/p>\n Though we may prefer action heroes, many times the solution to a problem lies in more run-of-the-mill, long-term action. With the aim of putting a stop to ocean pollution, drones are being increasingly used to monitor at-risk areas and collect reams of data.<\/p>\n Given that not all drones have to fly necessarily (at least, not according to their original definition), there are those that swim instead. In the port of Rotterdam, in Holland, two new prototypes of unmanned vehicles have taken to the seas since last September<\/strong>. AquasmartXL carries out continuous surveillance and inspection to check that everything is working smoothly, whilst the Waste Shark<\/a> removes surface litter to avoid it going out to sea or blocking port collectors.<\/p>\nThe lungs of our planet<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"drones](\"https:\/\/static.ferrovial.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2017\/06\/13152906\/drones-for-environmental-monitoring-deforestation.jpg\" "\\"drones")
<\/a><\/a><\/p>\nProtecting and saving the oceans<\/strong><\/h3>\n