Civilian use of aerial drones is still greatly restricted, but the federal science agency NOAA has won permission to test a small unmanned aircraft off the Olympic Coast of Washington. A two week trial run is now underway.
This drone looks like an oversized remote control model airplane. It has a nine foot wingspan and can fly for about two hours on battery power. The Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary superintendent Carol Bernthal says the drone offers a cheaper, less intrusive way to take high-def video and still pictures of offshore seabird colonies.
"It has lower noise than a traditional aircraft, which is what we typically use for surveying seabird colonies," Bernthal says. "You obviously don't want to disturb the animals when you're doing the survey because we're trying to do counts."
Bernthal says the "flying camera" will also survey coastal waters for trash, including possible fresh waves of Japanese tsunami debris. She promises the drone will be used for science missions only.
"We are not spying on anybody," Bernthal says. "We are not using it for enforcement purposes."
Bernthal says her agency reached out in advance to the Quinault and Quileute Indian tribes. Those are the main population centers on the thinly settled stretch of coast.
Copyright 2013 Northwest News Network
