Pavel Polivanov, Associate Professor of the Department of Aerohydrodynamics, Candidate of Physico-Mathematical Sciences, Novosibirsk State Technical University, NETI, as part of the S. A. Institute of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, Khristianovich SB RAS is developing an unmanned aerial vehicle that will significantly expand the capabilities of meteorologists in the study of wind conditions and improve the prediction of the environmental conditions. The young scientist received a grant from the government of the Novosibirsk region to implement his project.
"To better predict weather events, it is necessary to measure the strength and direction of the wind at multiple points at the same time. You can solve this problem with the help of a swarm of drones. When embedding a set of additional sensors in a drone, there is a problem with its cost. It increases many times, which makes it difficult to create a swarm of such devices at an acceptable cost. This problem can be solved if we consider the fact that the drone is quite sensitive to wind and, for example, with a strong gust, it will begin to oscillate. However, modern drones have a complex and poorly streamlined shape, which does not allow us to obtain an unambiguous connection between their orientation in space and wind parameters. Our task is to make such a quadcopter that could unambiguously measure absolutely any weather condition, since its main goal is to help meteorologists," Pavel Polivanov said.
Scientists are developing an optimal shape for a drone that will be light enough in weight, which will allow it to accurately measure the direction and strength of the wind without using additional sensors. We will also develop our own methodology for testing the device.
"We have made a small mobile stand in the form of a multi-fan wind tunnel, which allows us to simulate difficult wind conditions, for example, sharp gusts of wind. This installation can be used outdoors, which allows you to explore the quadcopter in real conditions. How it works: by varying the power of each individual fan, which is part of a large array of fans, we can create complex wind conditions that are close to real. This allows you to study the behavior of the drone in various weather situations. After the study, the drone can be launched to study the weather. Our development will help meteorologists in studying both weather conditions and just for studying atmospheric physics," Pavel Polivanov added.