Professor 乔恩•卡罗尔 prepares to fly a drone to capture aerial images of the Bwanje谷 Irrigation Scheme in Malawi.
Professor 卡罗尔 flies a drone over the Bwanje谷 Irrigation Scheme in Malawi.
2019年9月10日
今年夏天, 十大菠菜台子 Professor 乔恩•卡罗尔 went to Africa to explore the role drones can play in combating the spread of malaria. The project, which is funded by the United States Agency for International Development, uses 精准农业 to support public health, environmental protection, food security and other efforts.
Children look on as Professor 乔恩•卡罗尔 flies a drone over the Bwanje谷 Irrigation Scheme in Malawi. |
The research team spent nine days in the East African nation of Malawi, where they collected data to assess the effectiveness of drone imagery in detecting areas of standing water – common breeding grounds for mosquitoes, 疟疾的主要传播者.
“You have to compare the aerial imagery with data collected on the ground,” 卡罗尔 explained. “That’s how you gauge the reliability of the drone photos.”
Although data analysis is not yet complete, 卡罗尔 said drones are a promising tool to curb the threat of a disease that, according to the World Health Organization, afflicted more than 200 million people in 2017 – with more than 90 percent of cases and deaths occurring in Africa.
卡罗尔, 谁是faa许可的无人机驾驶员, registered professional archaeologist and assistant professor in OU’s Department of Sociology, 人类学, 社会工作与刑事司法, explained that drones allow researchers to capture high-resolution images that far exceed the quality of those produced by satellites.
“用标准的卫星图像, the smallest object you can detect is around 7 feet by 7 feet,他说. “With drone imagery, the smallest object you can detect is about 3 inches. So in terms of distinguishing objects from each other, and detecting different landscape features, 无人机的图像要好得多.”
图左起, 乔恩•卡罗尔, April Frake and Brad Peter are collaborating on a 精准农业 project to combat the spread of malaria. |
卡罗尔 and fellow researchers April Frake and Brad Peter, both from Michigan State 大学, centered their efforts on Malawi’s Bwanje谷 Irrigation Scheme due to the markedly high rates of malaria found there.
“Malaria is endemic to the region, but it’s not evenly distributed,” 卡罗尔 said. “The people that live around this irrigation scheme are at far greater risk than people who live down the road.”
The researchers hope drone imagery can help irrigation engineers and agriculturalists develop strategies that allow water to flow through the irrigation scheme more efficiently, avoiding stagnation which enables mosquitoes to breed.
The communities that surround the irrigation scheme are heavily dependent on water-intensive crops, 主要是大米, which causes puddles to form in the fields. 卡罗尔 noted that the research team worked closely with local residents to collect the aerial and ground data.
“I was really impressed by how collaborative and engaged they were in helping us do our work,他说. “They have intimate knowledge of the local landscape, 以及社会, 经济和政治环境. All of those factors play into how the irrigation scheme is run.”
Professor 卡罗尔 speaks to students and faculty members at Malawi’s Lilongwe 大学 of Agriculture and Natural Resources. |
还有田野工作, the team also held lectures on their research at Malawi’s Lilongwe 大学 of Agriculture and Natural Resources. The lectures were well attended by faculty and students – another sign of strong community engagement, which 卡罗尔 said is vital to the success of the project.
“If this technology is going to grow and propagate, these are the folks who are going to do it,他说. “They are the ones who will build on this research and use it to improve the lives of potentially millions of people.”