Talon Amphibious Archives - Unmanned Systems Source

Talon Amphibious – The Chagos Expedition

In May 2018, an expedition to the British Indian Ocean Territory launched to study the distribution of megafauna across the Chagos Archipelago. Melissa Schiele, MSc student from Imperial College London, joined the expedition. Schiele also brought an amphibious drone -- the Aeromapper Talon -- to conduct the surveys. "I was thrilled when Dr. Tom Letessier from Zoological Society of London (ZSL) chose me to help with his drone research as part of the Bertarelli Programme in Marine Science," said Schiele. "Our plan was to survey some of the islands of the Chagos Archipelago to compare distributions of megafauna around islands with nesting birds to islands with invasive rats." To accomplish this task, Schiele researched possible drones. "To our knowledge, no one had a fixed-wing water landing drone," said Schiele. Fortunately for Schiele, there was one such drone that fit the bill -- the amphibious Aeromapper Talon manufactured by Aeromao Inc.

UAVs and Conservation Efforts

The use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) or drones, is gaining traction in the world of ecology and conservation. In marine environments, scientists are testing the feasibility of drones to locate megafauna as well as map large areas. Initial results are promising across the board. Many are looking to drones to bridge the gap between ground truthing surveys (diving transects, etc.) and large-scale plane based surveys, which cover thousands of kilometers. "In April 2018, I flew to Aeromao headquarters in Canada to learn how to fly our new drones. Aeromao created the Talon - a waterproof fixed-wing drone capable of flying huge distances with the strength, stability and mechanisms of a small plane. With a two-meter wingspan, the units looked impressive. After a week of training and a successful water landing on Lake Erie, I packed up the two drones and flew from Toronto to the Maldives."

The Chagos Expedition

"Our first deployment and retrieval of the Talon was a success. Plus, we captured our first aerial footage," said Schiele. "The drones were equipped with two cameras. One was on the belly of the fuselage; it took snapshots every second. The other camera was in the clear nose cone. It allowed live streaming of the drone flight to a screen used by the drone pilot. The images proved our original concept worked and we were able to pin point sharks, birds and large fish." Overall, the Talon performed well. There were some small water entry points which is being addressed. We also lost a few days to poor weather. For safety reasons, we did not fly in strong winds and there was little sense flying in rain. By the end of the three-week expedition, we had a suite of images and two drones in need of some TLC. This expedition is just the beginning of a very exciting, international effort into the use of water landing drones for use in marine ecology. We are learning from any mistakes we make and becoming deft at drone mechanics, too," said Schiele.

About the Aeromapper Talon Amphibious

The Amphibious version of the Aeromapper Talon allows maritime operations by autonomously belly landing on water. Learn more about the Talon Amphibious and shop the entire line of Aeromapper UAVs at Unmanned Systems Source.

Aeromapper Releases the Talon Amphibious UAV for Long-Range Maritime Operations

The Aeromapper Talon Amphibious by Aeromao is the world's first fixed-wing drone for commercial maritime operations that can belly land on water or parachute down. With its dual cameras and 20km video link, it’s the perfect solution for observation, data collection and mapping.

Talon Amphibious

There are very few Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) or drones that safely land on water. Thus the Talon Amphibious, with its watertight design, is a welcome solution for all UAV maritime and freshwater applications. Even better, this amphibious unit is affordable and multi-functional. Plus, true to its fixed-wing design, it offers extended flight time, substantial payload capacity, and extensive range. The UAV is simple to retrieve from the water using a small boat. Or, the operator can land on a beach. With a cruise speed of 60kph, +30km communication range and 2-hour flight endurance, it easily covers vast areas. As such, it saves both money and time. Plus, its internal GPS beacon makes locating and retrieving the UAV easy. The Talon Amphibious is quick to assemble and deploys by hand-launch from the shore or from a maritime vessel without disruption to the GPS system. Its waterproofed fuselage and internal marine-grade components that resist saltwater corrosion, make the Talon Amphibious system uniquely suited to life on the water. There are a range of customization options available for the Talon.

Tried and Tested

The Talon Amphibious underwent extensive testing in some of the most challenging marine conditions. Original design inspiration for the UAV came from marine ecologist and field biologists. Their work conditions include maritime vessels and remote island locations. And though these locations may appear idyllic, they present many logistical problems and constraints when it comes to gathering data. Scientists needed a UAV which could endure harsh environments such as rain, wind and waves. The Talon successfully completed operations in the British Indian Ocean Territories (BIOT) as part of a scientific expedition led by the Zoological Society of London. This is the first time that a fixed-wing amphibious UAV was used in the UK Overseas Territories. The applications of a water landing unit in marine ecological surveys, fisheries management and maritime surveillance are vast. In addition, an MSc student from Imperial College London piloted and tested the amphibious UAV. He described the unit as: “An incredible tool for gathering vast amounts of ecological and habitat data, safe in the knowledge that we can easily land anywhere near the main vessel or on the ocean. In the tropics, rain clouds can often hit out of nowhere, and with this amphibious UAV, we no longer have to worry about rain water leaking in, either.” Over 25,000 images were collected during the ecological surveys and the scientists were able to analyse the images to calculate the abundances of sharks and birds. Their camera of choice was the Garmin VIRB which allowed for geotagging of each image. The Talon Amphibious is garnering plenty of interest in the research world. Scientists and managers from around the world are looking to implement this maritime solution into their coastal project operations.

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