It is the Collegiate “Drone World Fair” held at James Madison University; unmanned Ariel Vehicles are the theme of the exposition and they are whizzing in and out of storyboards, displays, and the excited observers who have come to see what innovative ideas have been conceptualized from the young minds of the outstanding students apart of the JMU X Labs project.
The Stream Team will be using state of the art Sony cameras attached to our drone
Okay so while it might not be the “drone world fair,” in a few short weeks the students of the unique cross-disciplinary collaborative drone class will be presenting our projects to the each other, the public, and the media.
The Stream Team has been hard at work in our efforts to save the James Spinymussel, an endangered freshwater mussel endemic to the James River Watershed. Our project uses drone technology to solve the problem of an unstable aquatic ecosystem, which changes with natural and anthropogenic disturbance. With our drone, we will use aerial photography and graphic overlay to map the Swift Run (an area home to a concentrated population of mussels) repeatedly to determine areas of the field site that are less sensitive to the disturbance. These sites are ideal for relocation of a micropoulation of the James Spinymussel, and can be used in a translocation plan proposal in an effort to save the species.
Industrial Designer Kevin Johnson sketches the interactive fish tank component of the exhibit
One of the most exciting building blocks to our project was our ability to actually visit the Swift Run field site and hunt for mussels ourselves. We believe the public would gain just as much insight. We plan on creating an interactive fish tank-like display as a main component of our project exhibit to display the mussel’s environment. It will contain sediments and other elements from Swift Run, including 3D printed mussels.
In addition to river exploration, our biggest aid in our mapping mission is an imaging software called Agisoft, that overlays pictures together to create one composite image. We hope to use the program as another component of our display, possibly allowing spectators the opportunity to be 3D modeled in a booth.
(From left to right) Stephen Meyer, Kevin Johnson, and Brie Hayden sketch ideas
Along with trifold displays, we hope our display to be as interactive and fun as informative to the public. The James Spinymussel is the most endangered animal in the state of Virginia, and we have the technology to help. We hope the public exposure will prompt others in the area to help too.