Weather to Fly: Development of Unmanned Aircraft Systems
for Atmospheric Research at the University of Oklahoma
Phillip B. Chilson
University of Oklahoma
Leveraging its long and rich history in aviation, aerospace technology, and weather research and development, the state of Oklahoma has embraced the concept of using unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) for atmospheric investigation and monitoring. The deployment of small unmanned aircraft to collect in-situ vertical measurements of the atmospheric state in addition to surface conditions has potential to significantly expand weather observation capabilities. Given both the need for more observations in the lower atmosphere and the nature of the evolving regulatory landscape, we expect the integration of UAS into meteorology to be particularly impactful in the near term in the study of planetary boundary layers. Therefore, the University of Oklahoma (OU) has been actively investigating the prospective role of using of small UAS to observe the lowest 1- 2 km of the Earth’s atmosphere. In this presentation I provide a brief history and overview of weather UAS activities at OU and its collaborators. Moreover, I will briefly discuss the tradeoffs between using fixed and rotary wing aircraft for different sampling objectives; provide an overview of different sensor packages, which have SWaP (size, weight and power) requirements that can be accommodated using these platforms; and share a concept being developed at OU, which will hopefully move us towards operational data collection in the atmospheric boundary layer in the near future.
Seminar will be webcast at: http://www.fin.ucar.edu/it/mms/fl-live.htm
Thursday, 6 October 2016, 2:00 PM
Refreshments 1:45 PM
NCAR-Foothills Laboratory
3450 Mitchell Lane
Bldg 2 Large Auditorium (Rm1022)
