A small, inexpensive remote-control plane is to come to the market soon. It is a sensing tool, being prototyped by a Kansas State University research team. This unmanned aerial vehicle is planned to collect environmental data. It is this summer, the team plans to test it over the Konza Prairie Biological Station near Manhattan.
It would be of good use too, for climate scientists, once perform successfully. With it, they would be able to obtain high-resolution images and reliable data after reconstructing it. A three-year research instrumentation project began in fall 2005 with a $597,000 National Science Foundation grant. And, the development of this sensing tool is part of the project.
Dale Schinstock, assistant professor of mechanical engineering says,
This will be very easy to use. Its weight and size allow it to be launched by hand and flopped down in the grass for landings…Furthermore, we’re relying on an electric propulsion system that makes it extremely reliable and easy to use… Battery power eliminates emissions and messy fuels that could compromise the data collection systems and greatly reduces vibration.
Via: Biology News
