High Resolution Atmospheric Sensing Using UAVs

A technique to obtain high resolution atmospheric data using small mobile sensors is presented. A fluid based control scheme using smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) is implemented to perform field measurements in a leaderfollower arrangement for a team of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) equipped with environmental sensors. A virtual leader is created by using a reduced density SPH particle to guide the unmanned aerial vehicles along a desired path. Simulations using the control scheme demonstrate excellent measurement ability, swarm coherence, and leader following capability for large swarms. A K-means algorithm is used to reduce the measurement error and provide accurate interpolation of the field measurement data. Experimental results are presented which demonstrate the guidance and collision avoidance properties of the control scheme using real UAVs. Readings from the UAV’s temperature and humidity sensor suite are used with the K-means algorithm to produce a smooth estimation of the respective distribution fields.