Avans students test self-developed drones in South Africa: 'It was an unforgettable journey'

BREDA - At the beginning of this month, eighteen students from Avans University of Applied Sciences made a trip to remember.During a project they developed drones for a company in South Africa, and were allowed to travel to the country to test the drones themselves in a wildlife park."This project was also very special for me as a teacher. Because of course you don't experience something like this every day," says teacher Bart Oerlemans enthusiastically.

At Avans University of Applied Sciences, students work continuously on projects.But sometimes one comes along, which also provides an unforgettable experience for teacher Bart Oerlemans.At the beginning of this month he traveled with a total of eighteen students to South Africa to test drones he developed himself

The project arose from a request from a company in South Africa, Safari Live from WildEarth. They provide live streams of safaris in a wildlife park, and were looking for a way to work more efficiently by spotting animals earlier", explains Oerlemans. It was up to eighteen Avans students to come up with a solution to that question. The students did this in two groups. One group developed a drone that can fly over long distances and spot animals with the help of a thermal imaging camera. The other group developed a drone that, when animals are spotted, can fly to that location to provide more information. "The second drone can hover and analyze for itself what kind of animals it is. It can then, for example, indicate that it is 80 percent certainly a lion," explains Oerlemans. One of the students who worked on the project is Wietske Brouwer. “It was a very interesting project because we worked with students from all kinds of different studies. That way we could make all the parts ourselves. From mounting the cameras to writing the app and programming the drone,” she explains. "Ultimately, of course, we were able to test our drones to a certain extent in the Netherlands. But being allowed to do it in South Africa was of course really great."

At the beginning of January, the students in two groups traveled to South Africa for a week each to test their drones. They paid for the flight themselves and received care at the location of the company that had given the order. "That was really cool. For example, we had to test a lot at night, because then the heat sensor works best. Then you went into a wildlife park at 3.45 am, and you could see the sun during testing. come up ", Wietske says enthusiastically. It was also a special experience for Oerlemans. "Of course it doesn't happen every day that you are allowed to make such a special journey for a project. It was a truly unique experience for the students, which was also very educational." According to Oerlemans, the developed drones are very versatile. "This time the drones had to be able to spot animals. But with other cameras you can of course also determine other things, such as drought or floods. That can be very useful for Dutch nature reserves, but also for agriculture, for example."

About Applied Aeronautics

Applied Aeronautics is a US-based UAV manufacturer, specializing in the design and manufacturing of affordable, long-range composite drones. Applied Aeronautics’ flagship product, The Albatross, is an electric fixed wing UAV designed for use in most industries, ranging from agriculture and research to disaster management and defense. This entirely customizable solution was engineered for accessibility, to meet the growing demand for a professional UAV that married robust capabilities with an affordable price point. For more information, please visit http://www.AppliedAeronautics.com

SOURCE ARTICE: https://www.bredavandaag.nl/nieuws/algemeen/305264/avans-studenten-testen-zelf-ontwikkelde-drones-in-zuid-afrika-het-was-een-