Drones driven by AI will track illegal fishing in African waters

Across the African continent, drones are finding innovative uses – from monitoring displaced populations, to delivering critical medical supplies.

Moroccan technology startup ATLAN Space is developing artificial intelligence (AI) to guide autonomous drones so they can scan large areas for “environmental crimes” like illegal fishing, poaching or deforestation.

In June, ATLAN Space won the National Geographic Society’s $150,000 Marine Protection Prize to implement a pilot project to combat illegal fishing in the Seychelles.

Drones will be armed with information about illegal fishing hotspots, explains Badr Idrissi, CEO and co-founder of ATLAN Space.

Once a drone detects a boat, AI will enable it to verify whether it is a cruising boat, tanker or fishing vessel. The drone will then establish whether the boat is operating inside a marine protected area, and if it is an authorized fishing vessel.

The Seychelles main island of Mahe.

PHOTO: courtesy of ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP/Getty Images

If it concludes that the activity is illegal, the drone will register the boat’s location, identification number, and number of people on board and relay this information to authorities via satellite.

Currently governments employ light aircraft or coast guard vessels for this kind of surveillance.

“With artificial intelligence we are able to replace the pilot, the data analyst, transmission equipment, and with that we can reduce the cost,” says Idrissi, a former account manager at Microsoft.

He adds that using drones guided by AI would relieve coast guards from their monitoring duties and allow them to focus on intercepting vessels.

According to Idrissi, ATLAN Space technology can be integrated in any type of drone. He says the operational range could reach up to 800 kilometers when using drones equipped with a combustion engine.

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's a drone powered by artificial intelligence.

PHOTO: Badr Idrissi

Idrissi, 37 and co-founder Younes Moumen, 35, both based in Rabat, started developing the technology when they learned that illegal fishing costs coastal countries in West Africa approximately $2.3 billion every year.

“We consider ourselves a partner of government to build a sustainable solution to the issues and challenges they are facing,” Idrissi says.

Drones for good

ATLAN Space is one of many startups innovating with drone technology on the continent.

Across Southern Africa, drones are used to protect elephants and rhinos from poaching. In Sudan, a startup wants to drop Acacia tree seeds from the sky to tackle desertification, and in South Africa, drones are used in agriculture to monitor crop health and detect disease.

In Rwanda, drones deliver vital medical supplies like blood and vaccines to remote areas.

In Dubai, Exponent Technology Services collaborated with aviation authorities on a new tracking system helping prevent drones entering no-fly zones. Exponent also trialed a food delivery by drone, flying out 900 burgers in just one day. Scroll through to discover more innovative drones around the world.

PHOTO: Courtesy Exponent Technology Services

JEM Internal Ball -- The JEM Internal Ball was dispatched to the International Space Station in 2017 to capture astronauts at work. If that sounds like vanity, it's estimated ISS occupants spend approximately 10% of their working hours photographing their findings. Read more.

PHOTO: JAXA/NASA

Parrot Bebop Pro Thermal -- Parrot's thermal edition drone can provide a live feed identifying heat signatures, such as those given off by a human body, or the hot spots of a burning building. As an inspection tool manually controlled by humans, it can be used by first-responders and in disaster-relief efforts. Read more.

PHOTO: Parrot

DP Cargospeed -- A rendering of a DP Cargospeed route in Dubai with drones and trucks working within the supply chain. Read more.

PHOTO: DP World

Ambulance Drone -- Capable of speeds of 100 kmph (62 mph), Delft Technical University's ambulance drone prototype carries a defibrillator which can be dispatched for use in the event of a heart attack. Read more.

PHOTO: BAS CZERWINSKI/AFP/AFP/Getty Images

Plan Bee -- Honeybee decline is a worrying issue, integral as they are to pollination. Industrial design major Anna Haldewang has developed a drone called Plan Bee, which mimics the action of a bee, sucking pollen from one plant and expelling it onto others to enable cross-pollination. Read more.

PHOTO: SCAD

The Little Ripper UAV -- In January 2018 in New South Wales, Australia, the Little Ripper UAV proved vital in rescuing two men caught in rough surf. Lifeguards used the drone to drop an inflatable life preserver in minutes, which the swimmers clung on to to make it to shore. Read more.

Airdog ADII -- In extreme sports, headcams are so passé. The Airdog ADII drone will follow riders on snow, water, dirt track -- wherever -- using a GPS-enabled wristband capturing aerial shots while you make your aerial moves. Read more.

PHOTO: AirDog

Volocopter -- The 18-rotor autonomous Volocopter was trialled in the emirate in 2017 and reportedly has a flight time of 30 minutes and cruising speed of 30 mph -- enough to get you from the airport to the Burj Al Arab with time to spare. Read more.

PHOTO: Volocopter/RTA

Amazon Prime Air -- Amazon has been making significant headway in drone deliveries, with the first drop in the UK occurring in 2016. In 2017 a patent application emerged showing details of a system for safe air drop in back yards -- even involving tiny parachutes. Read more.

PHOTO: CNNMoney

UPS -- Amazon isn't the only delivery company dipping into drones. UPS demonstrated a human-drone tag team system with integrated storage and launch facilities built into one of their iconic brown vans. Read more.

PHOTO: UPS

SkyDrive -- Still in development, the SkyDrive from the Cartivator Project, a Tokyo non-profit, hopes to play a key part in the 2020 Olympic Games. With three wheels and four rotors, the car-drone hybrid will hopefully be the vehicle of choice for the lucky individual tasked with lighting the Olympic flame. Read More.

PHOTO: Cartivator

Zipline -- Rwanda has embraced medication delivery technology and approved the world's first drone port, while manufacturer Zipline is working with the Ministry of Health to supply pockets of the country with much-needed items -- starting with blood. Read more.

Flirtey -- In Virginia, 2015, an Australian-made Flirtey drone was approved to supplying a rural pop-up clinic with medication. Read more.

PHOTO: Tim C. Cox

Hubsan X4 -- Drone racing is a big deal. It has its own series -- the Drone Racing League -- featured on ESPN, and is a fast-growing sport. The Hubsan X4 has a point-of-view camera and some nifty moves. Read more.

PHOTO: hubsan

Workhorse SureFly -- With eight rotors and two seats, the SureFly is one of the larger drone taxi prototypes out there. Touted as a replacement for the helicopter, its makers aim for a competitive target price of $200,000. Watch more.

PHOTO: CNN

GimBall -- The GimBall won the $1 million first prize in the 2015 "Drones for Good" competition. It's designed to be "collision-tolerant" and access hard-to-reach areas such as burning buildings and nuclear disaster sites. Read more.

PHOTO: Courtesy EPFL

Raining beer -- An ill-feted venture in Minnesota saw ice fishers and local brewers rebuked for using drones to deliver beer cases in 2014. Beer company Lakemaid ran afoul of the Federal Aviation Administration because flying drones for commercial purposes at 400 feet or higher was against the law. Read more.

PHOTO: Lakemaid

Aerix Aerius -- Manufacturers once boasted of drones that could fit in the palm of your hand. The Aerix Aerius takes that claim to new levels with this, the world's smallest quadcopter at just 1.2-inches wide.

PHOTO: Aerix Drones

Blade Nano QX -- The Blade Nano QX is small by name, small in nature. Without a camera it's one for drone puritans and like Mihir Garimella's Google Science Fair-winning invention, is well equipped to avoid obstacles mid-flight. Read more.

PHOTO: Blade

Prev Next

They are also used for critical humanitarian missions, like mapping displaced people in Niger, Burkina Faso and Uganda.

In Lilongwe, Malawi, UNICEF partnered with the government to set up a testing corridor in 2017 to investigate how drones can be used for humanitarian work.

Over the past year, universities and private sector companies have used drones to map cholera outbreaks and mosquito breeding sites in the corridor.

“The idea is to see what’s working in Malawi and be able to scale the solutions to a global level,” UNICEF’s Michael Scheibenreif tells CNN.

“Drones will substantially change our way of working in Africa,” says Scheibenreif. “As a leapfrog technology they can help us to deliver goods like medicine quickly … in places where developed transportation networks or roads do not exist.”

Drone testing in Malawi.

PHOTO: UNICEF/Malawi/ 2017/ Mscheibenreif

Sky’s the limit?

But drone expert and World Bank Consultant Frederick Mbuya, who has previously worked on drone mapping projects in Tanzania and Zanzibar, cautions that drones, while hugely effective in land surveying and delivery of medical supplies, are not always the silver bullet they’re hyped up to be.

“Drones have a huge potential to impact Africa, and not just the rich, all areas of Africa,” he tells CNN. “But a lot of work needs to be done.”

As of July 2017, only 14 African countries had dedicated drone regulations, according to an African Union report.

But Mbuya stresses that often these regulations are too restrictive and exorbitant licensing fees can price local startups and operators out of the market.

He adds that if drone technology is going to change Africa, Africans have to be able to enter business using the technology and profit.

Idrissi agrees that drone technology and startups should be homegrown.

“We are based in Morocco because we believe Africa has reached maturity to build solutions that can really tackle the challenges and issues that Africa is facing,” he says.