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CropCam Featured in Natural World Film Series
May 26, 2009
When communism crumbled in 1989 it created an opportunity for wildlife.
The Iron Curtain that divided communist Eastern Europe from the capitalist
West had created a no-man's land protected by barbed wire and minefields.
The film entitled, “Iron Curtain, Ribbon of Life”, is part of the series
Natural World produced by Free Spirit Films in Britain. The film
tells the story of the movement, led by Biologist Dr Kai Frobel that
set out to save the wildlife of this precious strip. As the world
celebrates the 20th Anniversary of the fall of the Iron Curtain it can
also celebrate the birth of the biggest conservation movement in the
world. The ribbon of life stretches 13,000 kilometers across Europe,
protecting everything from bears and wolverines in Finland to rare Eagles
in Bulgaria.
Working with Dr. Frobel is Alpo Hassisnen a research scientist at the
University of Joensuu in Finland. One of the challenges of this
preserved strip of wildlife precious was how to check when there is
so much forbidden area? Enter CropCam a small UAV designed by
MicroPilot. The CropCam is radio control electric glider plane
equipped with a MicroPilot autopilot, Pentax digital camera and pre-programmed
ground control software. Hand launched, the CropCam takes a series
of high resolution images of the forest, valleys and water below.
The CropCam flew over Finland and Russia. The images were carefully
analyzed by Finnish and Russian Conservationist. Dr. Frobel stated:
The CropCam was valuable in gathering images that were used to plan
nature reserves to best protect the rarest species.
CropCam is an example of how a good idea can unite former enemies to
protect a last haven for many rare animals and plants in this ribbon
of life.
-30-
Pierre Pepin
Vice President Sales & Marketing
MicroPilot
ppepin@micropilot.com
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