Rainforest XPRIZE: Community Biodiversity Data Collection (2021-2022)
Tropical rainforests are among the largest repositories of forest biodiversity in the world. Unfortunately, they are being degraded and destroyed at a rapid rate, and many ecosystems are being lost forever. Biodiversity documentation projects help ensure that the world may be able to recover some of this loss in the future, but the process of documenting the biodiversity of rainforests is difficult, especially in the forest canopy, which is hundreds of feet above ground and incredibly hard to navigate with current scientific technology.
Since 2020, a Duke team has been participating in the Rainforest XPRIZE competition to develop drone technology to catalogue the astounding biodiversity in the near-impenetrable rainforest canopy. The Blue Devil Forest Divers, as this team is known, have created large, heavy-lift drones that can fly deep into the rainforest and drop remotely piloted forest “diving” imaging and sensor drones to collect images, sounds and samples from the overstory, canopy and understory layers.
In Summer 2021, the team ran an iNaturalist event to test their device and ideas with community members. During the academic year, they continued to refine the technology and test it in enclosures at Duke's Lemur Center. And, in June 2022, the team tested their technology at La Selva Biological Reserve and Research Station in Costa Rica.
In July 2022, the team was selected as one of fifteen semifinalists worldwide for the Rainforest XPRIZE, where they will compete for a $10 million award to advance and implement their their technology.
Learn more about this project team by viewing the team's video.
Timing
Summer 2021 – Summer 2022
Videos
XPRIZE Drone Testing in Duke Forest
Rainforest XPRIZE playlist (Martin Brooke)
Team Outputs
This Team in the News
Inside the XPRIZE Pressure Cooker
Blue Devil Rain Forest Divers Episode 1 (video by Duke Engineering)
Blue Devil Rain Forest Divers Episode 2 (video by Duke Engineering)
Blue Devil Forest Divers Episode 3 (video by Duke Engineering)
Blue Devil Forest Divers Episode 4 (video by Duke Engineering)
Blue Devil Forest Divers Episode 5 (video by Duke Engineering)
Duke Rainforest XPRIZE Team to Compete in Singapore
A Year of Creativity and Bold Thinking Through Bass Connections
Duke team gets global attention for rainforest drone project
Duke students, drones helping preserve rain forest
Duke Rainforest XPRIZE Team Advances to Semifinals
Duke Innovates Together to Protect the Planet
Image: Rainforest canopy, by Ben Sutherland, licensed under CC BY 2.0
Team Leaders
- Martin Brooke, Pratt School of Engineering-Electrical & Computer Engineering
- Stuart Pimm, Nicholas School of the Environment-Environmental Sciences and Policy
- Guillermo Sapiro, Pratt School of Engineering-Electrical & Computer Engineering
/graduate Team Members
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Christopher Keys, Electrical/Computer Engg-PHD
/undergraduate Team Members
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Braeden Kim, Computer Science (BS)
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Rodrigo de Albuquerque, Electrical & Computer Egr(BSE)
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Sebastian Williams, Electrical & Computer Egr(BSE)
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Allison Taub, Mechanical Engineering (BSE)
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Yunhong Shan, Computer Science (BS)
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Nils Roede, Mechanical Engineering (BSE)
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Luke Peterson, Electrical & Computer Egr(BSE)
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Tommy Livesay, Mechanical Engineering (BSE)
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Alison Korn, Mechanical Engineering (BSE)
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Kellie Johnson, Environmental Sciences (BS)
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Ritvik Janamsetty, Electrical & Computer Egr(BSE)
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Tim Ho, Biomedical Engineering (BSE)
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Allison Goehringer, Mechanical Engineering (BSE)
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Joanna Brooke, Psychology (BS)
/zcommunity Team Members
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Brad Boyle, Hardner and Gullison Associates
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Jared Hardner, Hardner and Gullison Associates
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Scott Loarie, iNaturalist
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Margaret Lowman, Tree Foundation
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Brian Enquist, University of Arizona
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Alex Dehgan, Conservation X-labs
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Miles Silman, Wake Forest University
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Laura Symes, Cornell University
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La Selva Biological Station
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Paul Bunje, Conservation X-labs