Next up in our “Ask Drone Girl” series is about using a drone to follow a bat as it’s flying at night. If you have a question for Drone Girl, contact her here.
Could a “follow-me” drone track a flying bat at night for research purposes?
Stephanie, a researcher in Germany, is working on detecting bats using drones, thermal imagery and AI. But rather than just counting bats or identifying species, she’s interested in tackling a task that’s more complicated: tracking their flight paths. Here’s what she wrote to me:
“Would be possible to follow a flying bat with a follow-me drone? If we could follow a bat visually for a bit longer we could analyze flight pattern (we know that there are different flight patterns for different activities like hunting or mating and that this also differs from species to species) better. We could also do some research if bats are using ‘helping structures’ like special fences or bridges over highways or railways correctly. We could do that with a static setup, but — especially in difficult terrain — a drone would be better.”
It’s a fascinating idea. But it’s also well beyond my personal engineering wheelhouse — so I reached out to someone who knows far more about drone systems design than I do: Evan Kawamura, an engineer and adjunct professor of electrical engineering at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
“When it comes to bat tracking, you cannot just wing it,” he said.
Why typical “follow-me” drones won’t work with bats
Most consumer drones with follow-me modes are built for tracking large, well-lit human subjects during the day — think hikers, cyclists or surfers. Bats, on the other hand, are small, fast, sensitive to sound and most active at night and generally only fly in low-light conditions.
“Most consumer drones with ‘follow me’ modes are designed for large, well-lit subjects during the day,” Kawamura said. “On top of that, bats are small, fast, and sensitive to sound while flying in low-light conditions where standard visual tracking struggles. Therefore, tracking bats at dusk or night is a very different challenge from typical ‘follow me’ drones.”
In short: your standard DJI follow-me feature isn’t going to cut it in this specific use case.
Thermal cameras + AI detection
Instead of relying on visible-light tracking, Kawamura recommends combining thermal imaging with AI trained specifically for bats.
“As suggested by the researcher, I agree with them and will elaborate further by having a thermal (infrared) camera combined with an AI detection model trained specifically on thermal images of bats.”
But even that isn’t simple. If the drone flies far enough away to avoid disturbing the bat (more on that in a moment), the animal may appear as just a few pixels in the frame.
“Since the drone will be far away, the IR camera may only see a few pixels of the bat in a frame, so it will be more important to get quality video footage and images before running any AI detection models,” Kawamura said. Detection should also be paired with predictive tracking so the drone follows a smooth trajectory rather than reacting to noisy frame-by-frame detections.”
That last point is key. A drone that “chases” a bat based on jittery frame-by-frame detection would likely create erratic flight behavior — and potentially disturb the bat.
Instead, Kawamura suggests predictive tracking algorithms that smooth the pursuit path.
The noise problem
Beyond the technical challenge lies a biological one. Bats rely heavily on hearing and echolocation. Even if drone propellers don’t directly interfere with echolocation frequencies, noise still matters.
“Besides the engineering challenges, bats rely heavily on hearing and echolocation,” Kawamura said. “While drone prop noise is mostly below echolocation frequencies, broadband noise and close proximity could still affect bats’ natural flight patterns.
For research integrity, maintaining significant standoff distance will be essential, so I would suggest a longer focal-length and lens configuration instead of flying closer with a quieter drone.”
In other words: zoom in, don’t move in.
The best drone to follow a bat: Freefly Astro
If this were to be done seriously, it wouldn’t be with a consumer hobby drone.
“A modular, medium-sized research platform, such as the Freefly Astro class, would be better suited than a consumer ‘follow me’ drone because it can carry stabilized thermal payloads and onboard computing for real-time detection and tracking,” Kawamura said.
That kind of platform allows researchers to mount higher-quality stabilized thermal cameras and onboard processors to run AI detection in real time. Interestingly, Kawamura also notes that full autonomy may not even be necessary:
“If autonomy is not a big concern, conducting manual flights with live thermal video can significantly reduce the system’s complexity,” he said.
Sometimes simpler is better — especially in research.
How to make a drone follow a bat
With the right hardware, sensors, optics and algorithms, it’s possible to have a drone follow a bat — but it’ll be complex.
“Ultimately, successful bat tracking is less about built-in ‘follow me’ features and more about designing a perception-driven system that prioritizes optics, smooth pursuit control, and minimizing disturbance,” Kawamura said.
That last phrase — minimizing disturbance — may be the most important part. Sure, a drone can probably do it. But can a drone do it without changing the very flight patterns you are trying to study? You might as well put it to the test.
The tl;dr? Consumer follow-me drones aren’t built for bats. But with a purpose-built research platform, thermal imaging and carefully designed AI tracking, it’s not out of the question.
Good luck with your research! It’s one of the more creative and thoughtful uses of drone technology I’ve heard in a while.
If you have a question for Drone Girl, contact her here.
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