From September 22 to 26, the University of Konstanz hosted the WildDrone Summer School—a week-long intensive course that brings together the latest scientific findings on drone technologies, computer vision, and conservation ecology. Our colleague Christoph had the opportunity to participate and present both the BAMBI research project and his dissertation project THUMPER.
The WildDrone project pursues the vision of sustainably changing nature conservation through the use of autonomous drone technologies and is training a total of 13 doctoral students in this context. The aim is to efficiently monitor wildlife populations, analyze movements, and develop solutions for conflicts between humans and animals. In view of the dramatic decline of many species, it is clear that new, effective, and practical approaches are needed—and this is exactly where drones and intelligent systems come in.
A central goal of the summer school was to bring together young scientists from different disciplines. This created a forum in which theoretical foundations were discussed alongside practical applications—from ecological issues to technical innovations.
Photo by Elżbieta Pastucha (WildDrone)