University of Kentucky researchers are teaming up with colleagues at three other universities to develop unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), or drones, that will measure atmospheric data for use in improving agriculture and weather forecasting.
The research will focus on creating small, affordable systems to collect data on wind, atmospheric chemistry, soil moisture and thermodynamic parameters. That data will be provided to meteorologists to help them in building more accurate forecasting models.
The project, called the Collaborative Leading Operational UAS Development for Meteorology and Atmospheric Physics, or CLOUD MAP, is made possible by a $6 million grant from the National Science Foundation, awarded through the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR). Led by Oklahoma State University, CLOUD MAP will also incorporate the expertise of researchers from the University of Oklahoma and the University of Nebraska, in addition to UK.
"This project will lead to important scientific discoveries for our environment, agriculture and meteorology, as well as to related future research and education opportunities for UK and the entire four-university science team," said Suzanne Smith, UK’s principal investigator on the project and the university’s Donald and Gertrude Lester Professor of Mechanical Engineering. Smith is also director of the NASA Kentucky Space Grant and EPSCoR Programs, which focus on NASA-aligned aerospace workforce development and research infrastructure development.
UK’s team members on the project include assistant professor of mechanical engineering Jesse Hoag, who will focus on developing cooperative control methods that will allow multiple drones to function together autonomously, and associate professor of mechanical engineering Sean Bailey, who will work on integrating spatially distributed data from the moving sensor platforms.
Assistant professor of chemistry Marcelo Guzman will use his expertise in atmospheric chemistry to develop airborne sampling systems for the project. Michael Sama, assistant professor of biosystems and agricultural engineering, will focus on airborne soil hydrology to observe moisture differences and variability in crops and soils and determine possible effects on agricultural crop development and yield.
In addition to developing new drone technology to improve weather forecasting and crop irrigation, the team's goal is to develop further general research capabilities for unmanned aircraft systems and additional outreach activities.
For more information and to track the project’s progress, check online at http://cloud-map.org.