Measuring wind with Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems

Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (SUAS) are an emerging technology that is suitable for multitude of applications requiring small sensor payloads including airborne wind measurement. This work discusses the considerations and limitations of different SUAS configurations, in particular Multi-rotor UAS (MUAS), and their capabilities when operating within the Atmospheric Boundary Layer (ABL). Several methods for measuring fluctuating flows from SUAS are discussed, and preliminary results from a quadrotor-mounted Multi-Hole Pressure Probe (MHPP) “flying anemometer” platform are presented. Flights at a range of altitudes demonstrated that in-situ measurements of both mean wind velocity and turbulence intensity from hovering airborne platform are feasible. This indicates that MUAS can be used as flexible wind sensing platforms with good high spatial resolution. Suggestions for how future SUAS technological and operation developments may further improve wind engineering applications are also discussed.