An Atmospheric Vertical Detection System Using the Multi-rotor UAV

An atmospheric vertical detection system integrating meteorological and atmospheric composition based on the multi-rotor UAV has been developed to quickly measure air pressure, temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and direction, ozone and particles, providing a new technique of vertical detection in the atmosphere. Using modular, digital, and integrated design, the meteorology and atmospheric composition pods are fixed on the upper and lower parts of the UAV respectively without changing the UAV structure. Meanwhile, this design can ensure that the pods do not affect the original position of the UAV gravity, which ensures flight safety. To obtain the accuracy of UAV observation, we carried out some comparative experiments. First, a synchronous test was conducted between the UAV and the tethered balloon. 93 samples were obtained at certain height from the experiment during the simultaneously ascending process. The results showed that the temperature deviation was -0.6~-0.1 °C with correlation of 0.99, the relative humidity deviation was -4.2~6.8 %, the wind speed deviation was -0.7~0.2 m/s and the wind direction deviation was within 20°. Second, the experiment was implemented between the UAV and the standard wind tower (10 meters). The UAV hovering as the same height as the standard wind tower and 15 samples were obtained. The results showed that the average wind speed of the UAV was 1.3 m/s while the wind tower was 1.2 m/s, the wind direction deviation was between -9° and 6°. Third, the UAV was used to perform synchronous comparison with the 49i Ozone Analyzer and the Sharp5030 Particle Monitor (Thermo Fisher). 100 samples were produced by 5-minute average measurements. The results showed that the correlation of two groups of PM
_2.5
samples was 0.7 while the concentration was greater than 35 μg/m
³
, Furthermore, the O
₃
correlation was 0.8 while the concentration was greater than 40 μg/m
₃
. The preliminary results indicate that the atmospheric vertical detection system has good accuracy and practicality. It will be effectively applied in the field of interactive research between the boundary layer and pollutants, emergency protection, flight monitoring of heavy pollutant emission, and so on.