[ad_1]
Swiss technology company Meteomatics is set to unveil its MeteoDrone, a drone-based low-atmosphere analysis platform, today in North Dakota. For the first time in the U.S., he said, this will make real-time local weather conditions more transparent to UAV and other aircraft customers. Standard forecasts are produced.
Meteomatics fills the gap between satellite, radar, aircraft and other high-altitude systems to collect forecast data for a wide area and is available at the rapidly changing wind, rain, snow, fog and other low levels. It does so with a special Meteordrone system, featuring a drone that is licensed by the Federal Aviation Administration to fly up to 9,000 feet.
As the craft ascends, it collects data and returns to the ground unit for accurate analysis of real-time high-altitude atmospheric conditions. That information allows UAV and other aircraft operators to know how the weather they will encounter will change in the near future, allowing their customers to base their flight plans to avoid problematic conditions.
Read moreThe Swiss Meteodrone provides UAV operators with a real-time low-altitude weather view
Meteomatics has been using its Meteodrone system, a team of meteorological drones, to provide accurate low-level weather forecasts across Europe. Starting today, it will offer that service for the first time in the U.S. in partnership with North Dakota’s Grand Forks Air Force Base, GreatSky — the nation’s first commercial UAV and aviation park — and meteorology forecasting company TruWeather Solutions.
The Meteomatics system works by sending the MeteoDrone up to 9,000 times the weather. It then uses sensors and video to provide environmental conditions, including temperature, humidity, air pressure, and wind speed and direction.
That data is fed directly to the ground station, where the computer generates a high-resolution model of the current conditions, and the company says it can focus on specific areas nine times more accurately with local forecasts – accuracy down to one-square kilometer – than even the best meta-weather companies can manage.
The choice of GrandSKY was not accidental. For starters, the company is almost exclusively involved in North Dakota’s Vantis state-wide drone network. Meanwhile, Meteomatics previously tested the MeteoDrone solution in Oklahoma, where the topology of all of the Great Plains states causes atmospheric systems to travel faster than elsewhere, resulting in rapid low-level weather changes.
Paul Walsh, named CEO of Meteomatic’s new U.S. operations last month, said both geographic location, partnerships and advanced drone activity factors made Grand Forks the perfect place to launch a MeteoDrone solution in the country.
“Our work with GrandSKY and TruWeather Solutions demonstrates the real-world need for highly accurate weather information and how it can impact mission-critical decisions,” said Walsh. “This isn’t just the aviation space; weather plays a big role in how organizations around the world operate. We’re proud of our new partnership, shining a light on existing visibility gaps and the opportunities that will open up as a result of filling them.”
FTC: We use automated links that generate revenue. More.
[ad_2]
Source link
