Last week, researchers at Sandia National Laboratories flew a tethered balloon and an unmanned aerial system, colloquially known as a drone, together for the first time to get Arctic atmospheric temperatures with better location control than ever before. In addition to providing more precise data for weather and climate models, being able to effectively operate UASs in the Arctic is important for national security.
“Operating UASs in the remote, harsh environments of the Arctic will provide opportunities to harden the technologies in ways that are directly transferable to the needs of national security in terms of robustness and reliability,” said Jon Salton, a Sandia robotics manager. “Ultimately, integrating the specialized operational and sensing needs required for Arctic research will transfer to a variety of national security needs.”
Last week, researchers at Sandia National Laboratories flew a tethered balloon and an unmanned aerial system, colloquially known as a drone, together for the first time to get Arctic atmospheric temperatures with better location control than ever before. In addition to providing more precise data for weather and climate models, being able to effectively operate UASs in the Arctic is important for national security.
“Operating UASs in the remote, harsh environments of the Arctic will provide opportunities to harden the technologies in ways that are directly transferable to the needs of national security in terms of robustness and reliability,” said Jon Salton, a Sandia robotics manager. “Ultimately, integrating the specialized operational and sensing needs required for Arctic research will transfer to a variety of national security needs.”
Information on temperature of the atmosphere is critical for predicting the weather, monitoring severe weather and improving climate models. Unlike tethered balloons or weather balloons, UASs don’t require helium, a nonrenewable resource, and can take off with less preparation. Thus, they can be launched from more remote locations. Most airports already collect atmospheric temperature profiles twice a day but switching to UASs with distributed temperature sensors would be better because they would be reusable and could fly more frequently, said Sandia atmospheric scientist Dari Dexheimer.
Continue reading at DOE / Sandia National Laboratories
Photo: Sandia National Laboratories unmanned aerial system expert Dave Novick examines an octocopter prior to the first joint balloon-UAS test in May. (Photo by Randy Montoya)
