GPM Ground Validation Stormtrooper Weather-sensing Unmanned Aerial System (WxUAS) Oklahoma State University (OSU)

Although the Stormtrooper can fly in many different patterns, it is most commonly operated as a profiler, following a straight vertical path over a fixed point on the surface while countering the effects of the winds to hold its position.

Through a sensor data fusion algorithm, the Stormtrooper can aid researchers in profiling the basic thermodynamics of the planetary boundary layer, while highlighting the altitude and depth of freezing and melting layers, cloud and cloud transition layers, and inferring precipitation type. The WxUAS was developed by Oklahoma State University and participated in the GPM ground validation project that took place at the University of Connecticut.