Lightweight Autonomous Dropwindsonde System for Unmanned Aircraft

该合同继续支持开发用于无人驾驶飞机部署的气象投风探空仪。在第一阶段，开发了一种独特的、可能非常可靠的旋转探空仪配置，并在无人驾驶飞机上进行了测试。在第二阶段，首席研究员和他的同事将为探空仪系统开发集成电子设备，并生产50个原型探空仪。这些探空仪将能够测量温度、湿度、压力和风，并将采用全球定位卫星（GPS）系统来确定位置。第一代机载数据采集系统，包括用于初始化探空仪器的高精度仪器（例如，用于测量水蒸气的Lyman alpha湿度计），也将被组装和测试。该系统将应用于飓风跟踪、热带水汽预算研究以及目前没有雷达探空仪覆盖的偏远地区的气象观测等领域。虽然设计用于无人驾驶飞机，系统可以很容易地适应几乎任何有人驾驶飞机。该系统可代表气象观测在研究和业务方面的重大进步。

This award continues support for an effort to develop a meteorological dropwindsonde for deployment from unmanned aircraft. During Phase I, a unique, potentially very reliable rotary sonde configuration was developed and tested with releases from unmanned aircraft. During Phase II, the principal investigator and his colleagues will develop the integrating electronics for systems in the sonde and produce 50 prototype sondes. These sondes will be able to measure temperature, humidity, pressure, and winds, and will employ the Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) system to determine location. A first-generation airborne data acquisition system, which includes high-precision instruments for initializing the sonde instruments (e.g., a Lyman alpha hygrometer to measure water vapor), will be assembled and tested as well. The system will have applications in the areas of hurricane tracking, studies of the tropical water vapor budgets, and meteorological observations in remote areas where rawinsonde coverage is not presently available. Although designed for unmanned aircraft, the system can easily be adapted to almost any manned aircraft. The system could represent a very significant advancement for meteorological observing, both for research and operational purposes.