This report represents a simplified version of the more elaborate report delivered in the Research Council’s online portal. It also contains some supplementary information about key achievements and deliverables for SeaBee during the project year lasting from 1 March 2023 to 29 February 2024.

Popular science summary

Norway’s coastline is more than 100,000 km long, including all islands and skerries. However, only a fraction of its species and habitat types have been mapped. These include threatened seabirds and mammals, essential and diverse ecosystems that capture and store carbon, and that serve as nursery grounds and food for countless species, as well as great commercial resources.

The coastal zone is rather inaccessible, where research vessels rarely enter, and small, rubber boats provide limited spatial coverage. This is where the use of flying and smaller surface drones can revolutionize environmental research, mapping, and monitoring in Norway and abroad.

During the five-year period 2020 to 2025, SeaBee will establish a national center for drone-based services for use in coastal and aquatic research, mapping and monitoring of species and habitats, algae and animal communities, and anthropogenic impacts. This is a blue-green investment that will benefit research communities, management, and coastal industries throughout the country. Also, it positions Norway at the forefront of international drone research and monitoring applications.

Through pre-programmed flight planning and automated procedures, SeaBee is streamlining drone data collection and analysis and making high-quality products available in a timely and cost-effective manner. Flying drones equipped with cameras and sophisticated spectral sensors are used to take images on demand and at centimeter resolution – more than a hundred times better than available satellite products. Recorded species and nature types are classified using state-of-the-art artificial intelligence tools. Products are verified from ground truth observations by experienced ecologists. ‘Data and mapping products are stored in cloud-based solutions and made freely available for research and management applications through the customized online data interface. SeaBee is thus establishing novel and cost-effective solutions for use in aquatic research, and for mapping and monitoring of nature in coastal zones, and hereby setting new standards for environmental research and management.

SeaBee is a cooperation between the Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA, lead), the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), the Norwegian Computing Center (NR), the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), the Institute of Marine Research (IMR), and GRIDArendal (GRIDA), with Tiepoint (former Andøya Space) and SpectroFly ApS as industrial partners.

SeaBee aims to deliver an interdisciplinary national center for drone-based research, mapping, and environmental monitoring with world-leading expertise. In this spirit, we are happy to invite anyone with an interest in the coastal zone or technical enhancements to contribute to the continuous development of methodology and drone-based solutions for a sustainable future.