Real-Time UAV Surveys with the Modular Detection and Targeting System: Balancing Wide-Area Coverage and High-Resolution Precision in Wildlife Monitoring

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

This paper presents the development and field trials of a real-time, adaptive UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) system called the Modular Detection and Targeting System (MDTS) designed for ecological surveys. The MDTS represents a significant advancement in UAV-based ecological monitoring, offering a scalable, efficient, and high-resolution solution for wildlife surveys. Future work will focus on integrating machine learning for real-time classification, enhancing hardware capabilities, and optimizing flight paths for greater efficiency. The system’s innovative design and demonstrated capabilities make it a promising tool for wildlife monitoring and environmental research. Addressing the identified limitations and further optimizing the system will enhance its applicability and impact in the field of ecological monitoring. The following several questions are of concern to the reviewers.

1. How does the system handle environmental variability, such as changes in ambient temperature or weather conditions, which may affect thermal imaging?
2. What are the limitations of the current gimbal control algorithm when dealing with densely clustered targets, and how do you plan to optimize it for such scenarios?
3. Can the authors provide more details on the integration of machine learning models for real-time classification? What specific ecological datasets will be used for training these models?
4. How scalable is the MDTS for larger ecological surveys, and what are the potential challenges and solutions for extending its application to broader areas?

Overall, this paper presents a significant advancement in UAV-based ecological surveys, offering a practical and efficient solution for high-resolution data collection. 

Author Response

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Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

This study introduces a real-time, adaptive UAV framework,the Modular Detection and Targeting System (MDTS), aimed at advancing ecological surveys by addressing the challenge of balancing extensive area coverage with high-resolution data acquisition.It combines thermal imaging for large-scale detection with high-resolution RGB zoom imaging for accurate species identification,which enhances data quality and improves survey efficiency. The manuscript was basically well structured, and the MDTS provides a flexible and scalable method for wildlife monitoring, offering a methodologically rigorous and innovative approach with considerable implications for ecological research.Below are some specific comments and suggestions:

1. The biggest feature of the MDTS method, compared to traditional methods, is the absence of heading and side-lap overlap. How can full coverage of the images be ensured?

2. The paper discusses the spatial resolution and matching methods for multi-angle, thermal, and RGB imagery. It is recommended to add a figure or/and table to clarify these points.

3. Why is multi-angle data used, and how many angles are there to be used?

4. The figures and tables need to be clearer and improved, for example:

1) It is suggested to merge Table 1-3 or convert them into a figure for easier comparison.

2) The figures for the traditional survey (such as on Figure 10 and Figure 11) are unclear—could this be due to spatial resolution issues?

3) In Figure 12, how were the original points selected?

4) In Figure 13, what do the values "dog 0.74" and "horse 0.86" mean? Please add labels and explanations to the subfigures for easier understanding.

5. Other detailed issues:

1）Line 142，“For instance, Holm et al. Reported...”,add the literature;

2）Line 150，“AS stated by Holmes et al. a balance between GSD”，change ‘AS’ to ‘As’;

3）Line 310-312,I recommend use parentheses for items 1 and 2 to distinguish them from the subtitles;

4）Line 337,“The second factor is the IR emission”,explain the IR here;

5）Line 479,“a custom script integrated with the ROS”,explain the ROS here;

6）Line 557,“due to the implement BFS algorithm”，explain the BFS here.

Author Response

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Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Τhe article is particularly interesting with really new ideas for recording parameters of ecological interest in real time. The clever use of technology and literature enabled the authors to prepare reliable hardware setups.

The mammalian and avian surveys are impressive and highlight the potential of the MDTS system.

The organization, experimental design and presentation of results are complete and the discussion well documented.

Author Response

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Author Response File: Author Response.docx