Electrical sensors are installed on trees for meteorological research, forest surveys and to determine the cause of fires. Now experts have successfully tested dropping sensors on trees with dart drones.
According to scientists at Imperial College, it is impossible to sensor every tree in dense forests. For this they have made dart drones. These drones use small arrows to strike electrical sensors that stick to trees. By installing wireless sensors in trees and forests on a part-time and permanent basis, they are being used to know the condition of forests and meteorological conditions.
Although drones can be dropped on forest floors by drones, they can get lost and make it difficult to locate them. Now the arrow-shaped structure has been sensed and they have been glued to the trees like darts. The Imperial College team first developed a dart-throwing system on a drone. The laser was then used to target.
With the help of a spring, the sensors are thrown into the tree and fired with special shape memory material. In this way, the 650 gram sensor attaches itself to the tree while flying like an arrow. If the sensor is thrown from a distance of four meters, it catches its target within a radius of 10 cm. If the distance is shorter, the accuracy of 10 cm can be further improved. But in the initial experiments, the darted sensors collided and came back lost. In the next step, the whole system of sticking sensors to trees will be rebuilt.
In this regard, a video has been made in which a drone can throw 17 sensors on a single charge.
