We’re testing new ways to cover more ocean, faster – and it’s working

Finding Māui and Hector’s dolphins in vast coastal waters takes time, and we’re always looking for ways to do it more efficiently. That’s why, in early 2024, we explored a new approach: using a small plane to carry out survey flights.

After reaching out to several operators, we found a company already using a camera-integrated aircraft for land surveying. This meant we could skip the complicated and time-consuming CAA approval process for modifying aircraft – and go straight into testing whether this setup could work for us.

In early 2024, we completed test flights over Cloudy Bay to see if this method could capture the kind of imagery our AI model needs to detect dolphins.

The results?

• 2 days of flying

• 1,100 images captured

• 28 Hector’s dolphins detected by the AI model

  
  

The plane flew at a higher altitude than our drones, with a wider field of view, and at a much faster speed – averaging 167 km/h. Despite these changes, the image quality held up and the AI was still able to confidently detect dolphins.

Why this matters

Using a plane means we can cover more ground, at lower cost, and without compromising the quality of our data. It’s a promising option for scaling up future survey work – especially in large or remote areas where drone flights are more logistically demanding.

We’re excited by these early results and will continue refining this approach as we look to monitor more of the coastline, more often.