Drones Monitor Pollution in the Maldives

New Partnership to Use Drones to Monitor Plastic Pollution in the Maldives

by DRONELIFE Staff Writer Ian M. Crosby

Melissa Schiele, a researcher at Loughborough University, is heading a new partnership with non-profit organization Oceans Unmanned and the Marine Research and High Education Center that aims to utilize drones to gain a greater understanding of the levels and rates of plastic pollution in the Maldives.

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Melissa, a PhD researcher at the School of Mechanical, Electrical, and Manufacturing Engineering, has worked with the team during her time in the region.

The partnership, with the support of The Ritz-Carlton Maldives, Fari Islands, seeks to establish a standardized methodology for detecting plastics in the Indian Ocean using drones. At present, there is no standard technique in place for the gathering of information on plastic aggregations and reposition rates around the Maldives.

Having focused on developing drone…