An exciting application for drones: Collecting cliff plants!

Recently a drone, called Mamba, was used to collect plants growing on cliffs. A very creative and exciting application of drones. You can read about the study in the scientific paper here.

The drone was developed by the the Quebec start-up Outreach Robotics (previously known as DeLeaves). They have been working alongside National Geographic, Investissement Québec (mandatary of the Government of Quebec), Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund, Mitacs, Createk Design Lab, Institut Interdisciplinaire d’Innovation technologique (3IT), Sherbrooke University, National Tropical Botanical Garden (NTBG), Plant Extinction Prevention Program (PEPP) and the State of Hawaii – Division of Forestry and Wildlife. Outreach Robotics is enabling a unique method of sampling previously unreachable plants and facilitating the preservation of endangered floral species. One of the recent innovations from Outreach Robotics, the Mamba can be used to complete the conservation life cycle for organisms located in difficult areas, from location to collection, then cultivation and outplanting. Ensuring the survival of plant species on the brink of extinction.