Imageomics Animal Behavior Project in Kenya
This past January I traveled to the Mpala Research Center in Laikipia, Kenya to conduct biological field research as part of the Experiential Introduction to Imageomics course. I collaborated with students and faculty from The Ohio State University, Virginia Tech, Princeton, and Tulane University to study the behavior of zebras and giraffes using drones. My research focuses on developing resilient edge architecture for autonomous drone swarms for digital agriculture and animal ecology, so I was very excited to get hands-on experience and learn how drones can help ecologists to collect data better. The drone allowed us to collect much clearer video footage of the zebras compared to traditional methods of data collection using hand-held cameras. Currently, I am working with a team to build an end-to-end pipeline that will automatically identify individual animals and behaviors from drone videos using computer vision and machine learning. In addition, I am using the drone data I collected in Kenya to create drone swarms that can carry out these flights autonomously, so more exciting updates to come soon.
Flying drones in Kenya