无人机将通过提供近距离、高分辨率成像和数据收集能力彻底改变生物多样性研究

为了拥有健康的生态系统，我们需要生物多样性，因为它支持地球上的所有生命，包括人类。没有各种微生物、植物和动物，我们根本不可能拥有一个平衡的环境。

To maintain a healthy ecosystem, we need biodiversity, as it supports all life on Earth, including humans. Without a variety of microorganisms, plants, and animals, we simply can't have a balanced environment.

为了维持健康的生态系统，我们需要生物多样性，因为它支持地球上的所有生命，包括人类。没有各种微生物、植物和动物，我们根本不可能拥有一个平衡的环境。

Biodiversity provides ecosystem services such as clean air, freshwater, and flood management, which are crucial to human well-being. It also supports food security, helps in carbon sequestration, detoxifies and decomposes waste, enhances resilience in organisms, and helps regulate disease. The genes in plants and animals are even used to develop medicines and pharmaceuticals.

生物多样性提供清洁空气、淡水和洪水管理等生态系统服务，这对人类福祉至关重要。它还支持粮食安全，帮助固碳，解毒和分解废物，增强生物体的恢复能力，并帮助调节疾病。植物和动物的基因甚至被用来开发药物和药品。

So, it's clear that we need a better understanding of biodiversity. A powerful tool to study biodiversity in forests and tree canopies is the analysis of environmental DNA (eDNA). However, collecting the samples of eDNA isn't easy in such high and complex environments.

因此，很明显我们需要更好地了解生物多样性。研究森林和树冠生物多样性的有力工具是环境 DNA (eDNA) 分析。然而，在如此高、复杂的环境中采集eDNA样本并不容易。

Traditionally, labor-intensive approaches like tree rolling or surface swabbing have been used to achieve the task. Relying on satellite imagery or using cranes to study regions not only required significant efforts to reach sufficient coverage but also lacked precision.

传统上，人们使用诸如滚动树木或表面擦拭等劳动密集型方法来完成这项任务。依靠卫星图像或使用起重机来研究区域不仅需要付出巨大的努力才能达到足够的覆盖范围，而且缺乏精度。

But not anymore. Drones are all set to transform the situation by providing close-up, high-resolution imaging and data collection capabilities.

但现在不再了。无人机将通过提供近距离、高分辨率成像和数据收集功能来改变这种情况。

A new study proposed using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to explore biodiversity in treetops, specifically in remote and inaccessible areas. This means drones will perform the job safely without requiring people to go to hard-to-reach areas like tropical rainforests to collect genetic material from treetops while helping us get a deeper understanding of biodiversity.

一项新的研究建议使用无人机（UAV）探索树顶的生物多样性，特别是在偏远和交通不便的地区。这意味着无人机将安全地执行这项工作，而不需要人们前往热带雨林等难以到达的地区从树梢收集遗传物质，同时帮助我们更深入地了解生物多样性。

Gathering eDNA Using Drones

使用无人机收集 eDNA

eDNA is found in biological substances such as mucus, feces, and dead skin cells and has been used to examine biodiversity for several decades now. Used to catalog and monitor biodiversity, the DNA traces help researchers determine which species are present in a particular area.

eDNA 存在于粘液、粪便和死皮细胞等生物物质中，几十年来一直被用来检查生物多样性。 DNA 痕迹可用于编目和监测生物多样性，帮助研究人员确定特定区域存在哪些物种。

Early last year, scientists from ETH Zurich research institute used this technique to find out just which species use forest canopy to build their homes.

去年年初，苏黎世联邦理工学院研究所的科学家们利用这项技术来找出哪些物种利用森林树冠来建造家园。

To build this special drone that has the ability to gather samples on tree branches on its own, researchers at ETH Zurich along with those from the Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL partnered with the company SPYGEN.

为了建造这种能够自行收集树枝样本的特殊无人机，苏黎世联邦理工学院的研究人员以及瑞士联邦研究所 WSL 的研究人员与 SPYGEN 公司合作。

The aircraft was installed with adhesive strips on the bottom of it. The UAV was gently brought down on branches and once generic material was transferred from branches to these adhesives, it was then analyzed.

飞机底部安装有胶带。将无人机轻轻地降落在树枝上，一旦通用材料从树枝转移到这些粘合剂上，就会对其进行分析。

But ranches vary in their thickness and elasticity. And having the aircraft approach a branch and remain stable to take samples successfully proved to be a big challenge for the researchers.

但牧场的厚度和弹性各不相同。让飞机接近树枝并保持稳定以成功采集样本对研究人员来说是一个巨大的挑战。

“Landing on branches requires complex control.”

“降落在树枝上需要复杂的控制。”

– Stefano Mintchev, Professor of Environmental Robotics at ETH Zurich and WSL at the time

– Stefano Mintchev，当时苏黎世联邦理工学院和 WSL 的环境机器人学教授

So, the team fitted the drone with a force-sensing cage, which allowed the aircraft to measure the flexibility of the branch and use that to move. The device was then tested on seven tree species, and the samples were found to contain DNA from 21 distinct groups of organisms, including birds, insects, and mammals.

因此，该团队为无人机安装了力感应笼，使飞机能够测量树枝的灵活性并利用它来移动。随后该装置在 7 种树种上进行了测试，结果发现样本中含有来自 21 个不同生物群的 DNA，包括鸟类、昆虫和哺乳动物。

While this is an easier, faster, and safer alternative to sending biologists high up into the treetops, even this method isn't completely risk-free.

虽然与将生物学家送到树顶相比，这是一种更简单、更快速、更安全的替代方法，但即使这种方法也并非完全没有风险。

When using the drone, there is a risk of not only damaging the tree but also the drone itself in case there's an unintentional hard collision. Then, there's the limitation of gathering samples only from branches on which the drone lands. So, while the results have been “encouraging,” the drone had to improve.

使用无人机时，如果发生意外的严重碰撞，不仅会损坏树木，还会损坏无人机本身。然后，仅从无人机降落的树枝上收集样本是有限制的。因此，虽然结果“令人鼓舞”，但无人机必须改进。

An Improved System to Study Biodiversity

改进的生物多样性研究系统

Now, scientists from ETH Zurich have created a novel, custom-designed robotic system. This new approach for UAVs to collect eDNA within tree canopies uses a surface swabbing technique.

现在，苏黎世联邦理工学院的科学家们创造了一种新颖的、定制设计的机器人系统。这种无人机在树冠内收集 eDNA 的新方法采用了表面擦拭技术。

Led by Steffen Kirchgeorg, a robotics PhD student at ETH Zurich, the study developed a sampling system with a flat fabric probe. The piece of fleece cloth is actually cut into a circle, much like how a coffee filter is shaped, and attached with fiberglass strips to provide structure.

该研究由苏黎世联邦理工学院机器人学博士生 Steffen Kirchgeorg 领导，开发了一种带有平面织物探针的采样系统。这块羊毛布实际上被切成圆形，就像咖啡过滤器的形状一样，并附有玻璃纤维条以提供结构。

The probe is moved down on a tether from a lifting gear mounted on the quadcopter's underside. This way, the drone is kept out of the vegetation.

探头通过安装在四轴飞行器底部的起重装置的系绳向下移动。这样，无人机就可以远离植被。

The drone was also equipped with a sensor that prevents the tether of the probe from tangling on branches. The researchers programmed the system to shift position automatically when detecting an impact.

无人机还配备了一个传感器，可以防止探测器的绳索缠绕在树枝上。研究人员对系统进行了编程，使其在检测到撞击时自动移动位置。

The way it works is that the UAV hovers safely above the treetops. The probe is then lowered through the foliage where it brushes against leaves and branches. And once eDNA has been gathered, the probe can be removed for its content to be subsequently analyzed.

其工作原理是无人机安全地悬停在树梢上方。然后将探针降低穿过树叶，擦过树叶和树枝。一旦收集到 eDNA，就可以取出探针，以便随后分析其内容。

The experiment was performed in a rainforest in Southeast Asia, where the drone was remotely controlled by Kirchgeorg and colleagues through a live feed from its onboard camera. The drone was flown out of the line of sight to collect ten samples from the forest canopy.

该实验是在东南亚的雨林中进行的，Kirchgeorg 及其同事通过机载摄像头的实时直播远程控制无人机。无人机飞出视线范围，从森林树冠收集十个样本。

The effectiveness of the new approach was demonstrated during the XPRIZE Rainforest Semi-Finals, where the team revealed they found the eDNA of 152 different species from these

新方法的有效性在 XPRIZE 雨林半决赛中得到了证明，团队透露他们从这些雨林中发现了 152 个不同物种的 eDNA