title: Determining position, velocity and acceleration of free-ranging animals with a low-cost unmanned aerial system.
abstract: Unmanned aerial systems (UASs), frequently referred to as 'drones', have become more common and affordable and are a promising tool for collecting data on free-ranging wild animals. We used a Phantom-2 UAS equipped with a gimbal-mounted camera to estimate position, velocity and acceleration of a subject on the ground moving through a grid of GPS surveyed ground control points (area ∼1200 m(2)). We validated the accuracy of the system against a dual frequency survey grade GPS system attached to the subject. When compared with GPS survey data, the estimations of position, velocity and acceleration had a root mean square error of 0.13 m, 0.11 m s(-1) and 2.31 m s(-2), respectively. The system can be used to collect locomotion and localisation data on multiple free-ranging animals simultaneously. It does not require specialist skills to operate, is easily transported to field locations, and is rapidly and easily deployed. It is therefore a useful addition to the range of methods available for field data collection on free-ranging animal locomotion.
authors.affiliation: Structure & Motion Laboratory, The Royal Veterinary College, University of London, Hatfield AL9 7TA, UK.
authors.forename: Richard J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Harvey
authors.affiliation: Structure & Motion Laboratory, The Royal Veterinary College, University of London, Hatfield AL9 7TA, UK.
authors.forename: Kyle
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Roskilly
authors.affiliation: Structure & Motion Laboratory, The Royal Veterinary College, University of London, Hatfield AL9 7TA, UK.
authors.forename: Chris
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Buse
authors.affiliation: Structure & Motion Laboratory, The Royal Veterinary College, University of London, Hatfield AL9 7TA, UK.
authors.forename: Hannah K
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Evans
authors.affiliation: Structure & Motion Laboratory, The Royal Veterinary College, University of London, Hatfield AL9 7TA, UK.
authors.forename: Tatjana Y
authors.initials: TY
authors.lastname: Hubel
authors.affiliation: Structure & Motion Laboratory, The Royal Veterinary College, University of London, Hatfield AL9 7TA, UK awilson@rvc.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Alan M
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-9914-3455
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Wilson
mesh_terms: D000054:Acceleration; D000818:Animals; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D004285:Dogs; D040362:Geographic Information Systems / Q000191:economics* / Q000295:instrumentation*; D008124:Locomotion / Q000502:physiology*; D014741:Video Recording
keywords: Drones; Locomotion; Tracking; Wildlife