Name: TED 中英雙語字幕：無人機鳥瞰保育工作！ (TED 中英雙語字幕: 無人機鳥瞰保育工作)
Uploaded: 2026-01-05T03:34:09.000Z
Duration: 13 min 31 s

When we think of Nepal, we tend to think of the snow capped mountains of the Himalayas, the crystal clear still waters of its alpine lakes, or the huge expanse of its grasslands.

說到尼泊爾，大家第一個想到的可能是喜馬拉雅山的雪山、清澈寧靜的湖泊，或是廣闊的草原。

虛擬句型

What some of us might not realize is that in the Himalayan foothills, where the climate is much warmer and the landscape much greener, there live a great diversity of wildlife, including the one horned rhinoceros, the Asian elephant and the Bengal tiger.

但有些人可能不知道，在氣候溫暖、綠意盎然的喜馬拉雅山麓，其實住著許多多樣化的野生動物，像是獨角犀牛、亞洲象和孟加拉虎。

關係子句

But unfortunately, these animals are under constant threat from poachers who hunt and kill them for their body parts.

但很可惜的是，這些動物正受到盜獵者的威脅，他們為了取得動物的身體部位而獵殺牠們。

To stop the killing of these animals, battalions of soldiers and rangers are sent to protect Nepal's national parks.

為了阻止這些動物被殺害，國家公園會派出營的軍隊和巡邏員來保護。

But that is not an easy task because these soldiers have to patrol thousands of hectares of forest on foot or elephant bags.

但這不是件容易的事，因為這些軍人必須徒步或騎乘大象巡邏數千公頃的森林。

It is also risky for these soldiers when they get into gunfights with poachers.

當他們與盜獵者發生槍戰時，對這些軍人來說也是很危險的。

And therefore, Nepal is always looking for new ways to help with protecting their forests and wildlife.

是以，尼泊爾一直在尋找新的方法來協助保護他們的森林和野生動物。

Recently, Nepal acquired a new tool in their fight against wildlife crime.

最近，尼泊爾在打擊野生動物犯罪的戰鬥中獲得了一個新工具。

Or more specifically, conservation drones.

或是更具體來說，是保育無人機。

For about a year now, my colleagues and I have been building drones for Nepal and training their park protection personnel on the use of these drones.

大約一年前開始，我和我的同事們就為尼泊爾製造無人機，並訓練他們的國家公園保護人員使用這些無人機。

Not only does the drone give you a bird's eye view of the landscape, but

無人機不僅能讓你鳥瞰整個風景，

it also allows you to capture the detailed, high resolution images of objects on the ground.

還能讓你捕捉地面物體的高解析度影像。

This, for example, is a pair of rhinoceros taking a cooling bath on a hot summer day in the lowlands of Nepal.

舉例來說，這是一對犀牛在尼泊爾的低地，在炎熱的夏日裡泡澡消暑。

We believe that drones have tremendous potential, not only for combating wildlife crime, but

我們相信無人機具有巨大的潛力，不僅能打擊野生動物犯罪，

also for monitoring the health of these wildlife populations.

還能監測這些野生動物族群的健康狀況。

Well, the kind of drone I'm talking about is simply a model aircraft fitted with an autopilot system.

嗯，我說的這種無人機，其實就是裝有自動駕駛系統的遙控飛機。

This autopilot unit contains a tiny computer, a gps, a compass, a barometric altimeter, and

這個自動駕駛單元包含一臺微型電腦、一個 GPS、一個指南針、一個氣壓高度計，

Now, a drone like this is meant to carry a useful payload, such as a video camera or a photographic camera.

這種無人機可以搭載有用的酬載，像是攝影機或照相機。

It also requires a software that allows the user to program a mission to tell the drone where to go.

它還需要一套軟體，讓使用者能設定任務，告訴無人機要去哪裡。

Now, people I talk to are often surprised when they hear that these are the only four components that make a conservation drone.

很多人聽到，這四個零件就能組成一臺保育無人機時，都會很驚訝。

But they are even more surprised when I tell them how affordable these components are.

但當我告訴他們這些零件有多便宜時，他們會更驚訝。

The fact is, a conservation drone doesn't cost very much more than a good laptop computer or a decent pair of bikes, binoculars.

事實上，一臺保育無人機的價格，只比一臺好的筆記型電腦或一組不錯的腳踏車、望遠鏡貴一點點而已。

So now that you've built your own conservation drone, you probably want to go fly it.

既然你已經打造好自己的保育無人機，你大概會想去飛它吧。

Well, actually, you don't, because the drone flies itself.

嗯，其實是你不用飛，因為無人機它會自己飛。

All you have to do is to program a mission to tell the drone where to fly to, but

你只需要設定任務，告訴無人機要去哪裡飛，

you simply do that by clicking on a few waypoints on the Google map interface.

你只要在 Google 地圖介面上點幾個航點就可以了。

Missions could be as simple as just a few waypoints, or they could be slightly longer and more complicated to fly along a river system.

任務可以很簡單，只有幾個航點，也可以比較長、比較複雜，沿著河川系統飛行。

Sometimes we fly the drone in a lawn mower type pattern and take pictures of that area, and

有時候我們會用像割草機那樣的模式來飛無人機，拍攝該區域的照片，

those pictures can be processed to produce a map of that forest.

這些照片可以被處理成森林的地圖。

Other researchers might want to fly the drone along the boundaries of a forest to watch out for poachers or people who might be trying to enter the forest illegally.

其他研究人員可能會想沿著森林邊界飛行無人機，留意盜獵者或試圖非法進入森林的人。

Whatever your mission is, once you've programmed it, you simply upload it to the autopilot system, Bring your drone to the field, and

無論你的任務是什麼，一旦你設定好，就把它上傳到自動駕駛系統，把你的無人機帶到現場，

launch it, simply by tossing it in the air.

然後發射它，只要把它拋向空中就行了。

And off it will go about its mission, taking pictures or videos along the way.

它就會開始執行任務，沿途拍攝照片或影片。

Usually at that point, we will go grab ourselves a cup of coffee, Sit back, and

通常這時候，我們會去泡杯咖啡，坐下來，

Although some of us sit back and panic for the next few minutes, Worrying that the drone will not return, Usually it does, and

雖然我們有些人接下來幾分鐘會坐立不安，擔心無人機回不來，但通常牠都會回來，

when it does, it even lands automatically.

So what can we do with a conservation drone?

那麼，保育無人機可以為我們做些什麼呢？

Well, when we built our first prototype drone, Our main objective was to fly it over a remote rainforest in North Sumatra, Indonesia, to look for the nest of a species of great ape, the known as the orangutan.

嗯，當我們打造第一臺原型無人機時，我們的首要目標是飛到印尼蘇門答臘的偏遠雨林上空，尋找一種被稱為紅毛猩猩的大猿的巢穴。

The reason we wanted to do that was because we needed to know how many individuals of this species is still left in that forest.

我們之所以想這麼做，是因為我們需要知道在那片森林裡，這個物種還剩下多少個體。

Now, the traditional method of surveying for orangutans is to walk the forest on foot, carrying heavy equipment, and

現在，傳統的紅毛猩猩調查方法是徒步穿越森林，攜帶沉重的設備，

to use a pair of binoculars to look up in the treetops where you might find an orangutan or its nest.

然後用望遠鏡往樹冠上看，那裡可能會發現紅毛猩猩或牠們的巢穴。

Now, as you can imagine, that is a very time consuming, labor intensive, and costly process.

現在，你可以想像，這是一個非常耗時、勞力密集且成本高昂的過程。

So we were hoping that drones could significantly reduce the cost of surveying for orangutan populations in Indonesia and elsewhere in Southeast Asia.

所以我們希望無人機可以大幅降低在印尼及東南亞其他地區調查紅毛猩猩族群的成本。

So we were very excited when we captured our first pair of orangutan nests on camera.

是以，當我們首次拍攝到一對紅毛猩猩的巢穴時，我們感到非常興奮。

This is the first ever picture of orangutan nests taken with a drone.

這是第一張用無人機拍到的紅毛猩猩巢穴的照片。

Since then, we have taken pictures, pictures of dozens of these nests from around various parts of Southeast Asia.

從那之後，我們拍了好多照片，拍了東南亞各地數十個這樣的巢穴。

And we're now working with computer scientists to develop algorithms that can automatically count the number of nests from the thousands of photos we've collected so far.

我們現在正與電腦科學家合作，開發演算法，以便能自動計算我們到目前為止收集的數千張照片中的巢穴數量。

But nests are not the only objects these drones can detect.

但巢穴並非這些無人機唯一能偵測到的物體。

This is a wild orangutan happily feeding on top of a palm tree, Seemingly oblivious to our drone.

這是一隻野生紅毛猩猩在高高的棕櫚樹上快樂地覓食，牠似乎沒注意到我們的無人機。

That was Flying overhead not once, but several times.

那架無人機不只飛了一次，而是飛了好幾次。

We've also taken pictures of other animals, including forest buffaloes in Gabon, elephants, and even turtle nests.

我們也拍了其他動物的照片，包括加彭的森林水牛、大象，甚至還有海龜巢穴。

Besides taking pictures of just the animals themselves, we also take pictures of the habitats these animals live in.

除了拍攝動物本身，我們也會拍攝這些動物棲息的棲地。

Because we want to keep track of the health of these habitats.

因為我們想持續追蹤這些棲地的健康狀況。

Sometimes we zoom out a little and look at other things that might be happening in the landscape.

有時候我們會稍微拉遠一點，看看這片土地上可能發生的其他事情。

This is an oil palm plantation in Sumatra.

這是蘇門答臘的一處油棕種植園。

Now, oil palm is a major driver of deforestation in that part of the world.

油棕是該地區森林砍伐的主要原因。

So we want to use this new drone technology to keep track of the spread of these plantations in Southeast Asia.

所以我們想利用這項新的無人機技術，來追蹤這些種植園在東南亞的擴散情況。

Drones could also be used to keep track of illegal logging activities.

無人機也可以用來追蹤非法伐木的活動。

This is a recently logged forest again in Sumatra.

這是蘇門答臘另一處最近被砍伐的森林。

Here you could even still see the processed wooden planks left on the ground.

在這裡，你甚至還能看到地上留下的加工木板。

But perhaps the most exciting part about taking pictures from the air is we could later stitch these pictures together using special software to create a map of the entire landscape.

但從空中拍照最令人興奮的部分，或許是我們之後可以用特殊軟體將這些照片拼接起來，創造出一張整個區域的圖像。

And this map gives us crucial information for monitoring land use change to let us know where and when plantations might be expanding, where forests might be contracting, or where fires might be breaking out.

這張圖像為我們監測土地利用變化提供了關鍵資訊，讓我們知道種植園可能在哪裡擴張、森林可能在哪裡縮減，或者火災可能在哪裡爆發。

Area images could also be processed to produce three dimensional computer models of forests.

區域圖像也可以被處理，以製作森林的三維電腦模型。

These models are not just visually appealing, but

這些模型不只視覺上很吸引人，

they are also geometrically accurate, which means researchers can now measure the distance between trees, calculate surface area, the volume of vegetation, and

而且在幾何上也相當精確，這表示研究人員現在可以測量樹木之間的距離、計算地表面積、植被的體積，

so on, all of which are important information for monitoring the health of these forests.

等等，這些都是監測森林健康狀況的重要資訊。

Recently, we've also begun experimenting with thermal imaging cameras.

最近，我們也開始嘗試使用熱成像攝影機。

These cameras can detect heat emitting objects from the ground, and

這些攝影機可以偵測地面上發熱的物體，

therefore they are very useful for detecting poachers or their campfires at night.

是以在夜間偵測盜獵者或他們的營火非常有用。

I've told you quite a lot about what conservation drones are, how, how you might operate one of these drones, and

我已經跟各位介紹了不少關於保育無人機是什麼、要如何操作其中一架無人機，

以及無人機可以為你們做些什麼。

I will now tell you where conservation drones are being used around the world.

我現在要告訴各位保育無人機在全球各地被使用的地點。

We built our first prototype drones in Switzerland.

我們在瑞士建造了第一架原型無人機。

We brought a few of these to Indonesia for the first few test flights.

我們將其中幾架帶到印尼進行了首次的試飛。

Since then, we've been building drones for our collaborators from around the world.

從那之後，我們就為來自世界各地的合作夥伴打造無人機。

And these include fellow biologists and partners from major conservation organizations.

其中包含其他生物學家以及來自主要保育組織的夥伴。

Perhaps the best and most rewarding part about working with these collaborators is the feedback they give us on how to improve our drones.

關於與這些合作夥伴合作，最棒也最有成就感的部分，或許就是他們給我們的改進建議。

Building drones for us is a constant work in progress.

對我們來說，打造無人機是一個持續進步的過程。

We're constantly trying to improve them in terms of their range, their ruggedness, and

我們不斷嘗試改進它們的飛行距離、堅固程度，以及

We also work with collaborators to discover new ways of using these drones.

我們也與合作夥伴一起發掘使用這些無人機的新方法。

For example, camera traps are a common tool used by biologists to take pictures of shy animals hiding in the forest.

例如，相機陷阱是生物學家常用的工具，用來拍攝躲藏在森林裡的害羞動物。

These are motion activated cameras, so they snap a picture every time an animal crosses its path.

這些是動態感應相機，所以每當有動物經過時，牠們就會拍下一張照片。

But the problem with camera traps is that the researcher has to go back to the forest ever so often to retrieve those images.

不過相機陷阱的問題是，研究人員必須經常回到森林裡去取回這些影像。

And that takes a lot of time, especially if there are dozens of or hundreds of these cameras placed in the forest.

而且這會花費很多時間，尤其是在森林裡放置了數十或數百臺相機的情況下。

Now, a drone could be designed to perform the task much more efficiently.

現在，無人機可以被設計成更有效率地執行這項任務。

These drones, carrying a special sensor, could be flown over the forest and remotely download these images from WI fi enabled cameras.

這些無人機搭載特殊感應器，可以飛越森林，並遠端下載 Wi-Fi 相機的影像。

Radio collars are another tool that's commonly used by biologists.

無線電項圈是生物學家常用的另一種工具。

Now, these collars are put onto animals and they transmit a radio signal which allows the researcher to track the movements of these animals across the landscape.

現在，這些項圈被戴在動物身上，並傳送無線電訊號，讓研究人員能夠追蹤這些動物在野外的移動。

But the traditional way of tracking animals is pretty ridiculous because it requires the researcher to be walking on the ground carrying a huge and cumbersome radio antenna, not unlike those old TV antennas we used to have on our rooftops.

但傳統追蹤動物的方式非常荒謬，因為研究人員必須在地面上行走，手持巨大笨重的無線電天線，就像我們屋頂上那些舊電視天線一樣。

A drone could be used to do the same job much more efficiently.

無人機可以用來更有效率地完成同樣的工作。

Why not equip a drone with a scanning radio receiver, fly that over the forest canopy in a certain pattern, which would allow the user or the operator to triangulate the location of these radio collared animals remotely without having to step foot in the forest.

為什麼不為無人機配備一個掃描無線電接收器，讓它以特定模式飛越森林樹冠，這樣使用者或操作員就可以遠端三角定位這些無線電項圈動物的位置，而無需踏入森林一步。