Overview
The Whale Achoo and Gesundheit project is a 4th year capstone project that works in conjunction/collaboration with the Gesundheit drone graduate research team at Carleton’s Multi-Domain Laboratory. The capstone, developed by 4th year undergraduate engineering students, aims to develop: 1) an autonomous drone, Gesundheit, capable of collecting biological samples from whale blows—the excrement ejected as the whale surfaces and exhales, and; 2) a drone test bed, Whale Achoo, that simulates whale blows for the Gesundheit drone to practice safely collecting biological samples; and 3) an Unmanned Surface Vessel (USV) that will carry and support the Whale Achoo test bed, ensuring stable deployment in open-water conditions for at sea trials.
The information collected by Gesundheit can help scientists and researchers gather critical information about whale health to help efforts to preserve and restore Canada’s endangered whale populations. As such, this design collaboration contributes to Canada’s Oceans Protection Plan’s goal of marine life preservation.
The Background
The Whale Achoo and Gesundheit projects’ objective is to develop the tools necessary for scientists and researchers to perform non-invasive health monitoring of Canada’s whale species to help preservation and protection efforts. In a rapidly changing environment, Canada’s Oceans Protection Plan outlines some of the dangers marine wildlife, and thus the whale population, currently faces including climate change, ship traffic, and environmental hazards. Therefore, gaining better insight into the health and anatomy of the whale population is critical to crafting effective conservation policies that promote restoration efforts.
The Rollout
The funds received from donors will contribute to the development of the Whale Achoo test bed, the Gesundheit autonomous drone, and the UAV. Funds will cover costs for components and equipment aimed to improve the subsystems of the current Whale Achoo test bed prototype: pneumatic system, water dispensing system, and communication system; acquire and assemble a UAV (i.e., hull, propulsion system, and navigation system); assist in the mechanical integration of the Gesundheit drone with its necessary electronics (i.e., image processor and necessary whale tracking sensors) and acquire whale tracking hardware (i.e., controller). These key areas form the basis for the development of the Whale Achoo and Gesundheit project.
The Impact
The Whale Achoo project provides an opportunity to advance marine wildlife conservation and tackle a unique engineering challenge. Academically, it allows students to apply theoretical knowledge in a multi-disciplinary application while contributing to Canada’s Oceans Protection Plan. For the broader community, the project’s impact will extend to environmental protection efforts and enable scientists to better understand whales. You are helping preserve endangered species and fostering human research practices in marine science.