Article link: Using deep learning to detect an indicator arid shrub in ultra-high-resolution UAV imagery
My PhD research is in collaboration with Bush Heritage Australia. The second chapter of my thesis concerns the use of UAV imagery for gathering species-composition information, a component of biodiversity where measurement has typically been restricted to on-ground methods.
I used high resolution UAV imagery and deep-learning-based object detection models to automatically detect pearl bluebush (Maireana sedifolia) in UAV orthomosaics. The aim of the research was to assess the feasibility of this approach for use in monitoring programmes, as well as how detection accuracies were affected by the deep learning models chosen, image resolution, and monitoring site.
