A test crew has arrived at the largest British science facility on the continent, the Rothera Research Station.
The Windracers Ultra UAV (uncrewed aerial vehicle) is a twin-engine, 10-metre aircraft that can carry up to 100kg of cargo or sensors for distances of 1,000km and does not require a human pilot to take off, fly or land as it is equipped with a sophisticated autopilot system.
Unlike piloted Twin Otter aircraft, which are costly to operate and face logistical challenges in the extreme environment, the BAS said the “groundbreaking” unmanned drones are safer and “could enable dramatic increases in flight time”.
The drones, which will also investigate tectonic structures and the way the ocean and atmosphere interact, are equipped with AI-driven Swarm technology, allowing multiple UAVs to organise themselves as a single system.
Dr Tom Jordan, a BAS geophysicist specialising in airborne data collection, said the technological developments were “really exciting”.
“Polar science urgently needs extensive new high-resolution datasets to understand the ways the Antarctic ice sheet is changing, and how this will impact communities around the world,” he added.
The original article contains 334 words, the summary contains 180 words. Saved 46%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
This is the best summary I could come up with:
A test crew has arrived at the largest British science facility on the continent, the Rothera Research Station.
The Windracers Ultra UAV (uncrewed aerial vehicle) is a twin-engine, 10-metre aircraft that can carry up to 100kg of cargo or sensors for distances of 1,000km and does not require a human pilot to take off, fly or land as it is equipped with a sophisticated autopilot system.
Unlike piloted Twin Otter aircraft, which are costly to operate and face logistical challenges in the extreme environment, the BAS said the “groundbreaking” unmanned drones are safer and “could enable dramatic increases in flight time”.
The drones, which will also investigate tectonic structures and the way the ocean and atmosphere interact, are equipped with AI-driven Swarm technology, allowing multiple UAVs to organise themselves as a single system.
Dr Tom Jordan, a BAS geophysicist specialising in airborne data collection, said the technological developments were “really exciting”.
“Polar science urgently needs extensive new high-resolution datasets to understand the ways the Antarctic ice sheet is changing, and how this will impact communities around the world,” he added.
The original article contains 334 words, the summary contains 180 words. Saved 46%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!