Project ResQu, Australian Research Centre for Aerospace Automation, CSIRO, Australia

Protecting rainforest from weeds
Our rainforests are precious – less than two per cent of Australia's land area, confined to small patches clustered mostly in inaccessible, mountainous regions along the tropical coast. It's important we look after these precious habitats. Unfortunately, a purple-leaved weed, Miconia calvescens, has invaded some areas of rainforest. Miconia is an unusually aggressive invader and has potential to cause irreversible damage to native plant and wildlife populations.

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Australia’s rare and precious rainforests, like the iconic Daintree, could have an unexpected aerial ally in the battle against weeds – autonomous helicopters. Two Project ResQu helicopters developed by CSIRO completed trial flights near Cairns, locating weeds like the dreaded ‘purple plague’, or Miconia calvescens, faster and more reliably than ever.

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