Lessons from environmental monitoring applications: Boosting capabilities with image processingBOX 3 Another standout example of successful drone deployment in a societal context is Costa Rica Flying Labs. Part of a global network of local drone, data and AI hubs, Costa Rica Flying Labs enables communities to use drone technology for social good – notably in proactive environmental monitoring. In the country’s Caribbean coastal regions, the NGO Guardian del Bosque has partnered with Flying Labs to protect sensitive ecosystems from human encroachment, monitor critical water resources and promote sustainable development. Traditional manual methods were too slow and limited in scale, prompting the launch of a drone-based initiative to deliver high- frequency, high-resolution data while building local capacity for environmental stewardship. Relevance and impact: Traditional ecosystem monitoring involved ground teams surveying large tracts of land, a method that was time-consuming, limited in coverage and reactive rather than preventative. Recognizing these limitations, Flying Labs, with the support of WeRobotics, introduced drone technology into their conservation efforts. Using a single consumer drone, they conducted 10 flights covering approximately 100 hectares of sensitive terrain. The true innovation lay not only in capturing high-resolution imagery but in analysing multispectral environmental data to monitor changes and track specific tree species vital to local biodiversity, including parrot habitats. Operational simplicity was a vital feature: the system required only the drone and several batteries, making it highly adaptable for field conditions with minimal infrastructure. By training local staff to pilot drones and interpret the resulting data, the initiative inspired a sense of ownership and built technical capabilities within the community itself. This model emphasized that effective environmental monitoring is not just about technology deployment but about creating a lasting, locally managed ecosystem of skills and knowledge.The success of Flying Labs was built on collaboration. Flying Labs led field operations and community engagement as well as providing technical training and operational support. Looking ahead, partnerships with Costa Rica’s National System of Conservation Areas (SINAC) and private-sector actors in tourism and construction are being explored to expand the programme’s reach and embed environmental monitoring into broader sustainable development efforts. The initiative has sparked a greater awareness among local stakeholders regarding the possibilities of integrating technology into conservation efforts. Future plans include mapping climate-resilient zones that could serve as future wildlife refuges, developing software tools to automate vegetation analysis and scaling up local training programmes to ensure the community’s long-term autonomy in managing environmental data. Key lessons learned: 1. Costa Rica Flying Labs highlights the power of pairing simple, low-cost drone technology with strong local capacity-building to create sustainable environmental monitoring ecosystems, especially in areas where access is restricted due to difficult natural surroundings. 2. In drone deployments for monitoring, a regular revisiting of the same points is necessary to understand evolution over time, particularly when considering the required interaction with advanced image analysis tools. Advanced Air Mobility: Paving the Way to Responsible Implementation 17

Advanced Air Mobility 2025