Drones are being used in countless ways across many different industries. They have found a place in everything from education and research, security and agriculture, real estate and construction, photography and entertainment, inspection and delivery, and soon even as human transport vehicles. What was once considered a hobby toy or military tool, has now become a part of our everyday lives, especially in the wake of COVID-19. One of the main things that have held back the advancement of drones in society is the safety concerns they pose.

For a drone to be integrated into areas where people are, they need to be upheld to the highest safety standards. Today’s drones are equipped with a bevy of redundancy measures and obstacle avoidance systems to ensure that they can be flown without causing damage to people or property. But, there are still unforeseeable factors that can make flying a drone unsafe.

Because drones are lightweight, it is advised not to fly them during inclement weather such as strong winds. A gust of wind can easily blow a drone off course and cause it to crash. The U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration, better known as NASA, has been working to develop a system that would make it safe for drones to be flown under such weather conditions. NASA has partnered up with a company from Japan to design wind maps that could be used to route drones.

Based out of Kyoto, MetroWeather develops weather measurement equipment that utilizes remote sensing technology, specifically LiDAR (light detection and ranging). LiDAR uses a laser to measure the distance between two targets. The light from the laser bounces off a target and tells the sensor the distance. It is a common system applied to drones and other autonomous systems. For wind measurements, LiDAR equipped Doppler systems take readings close to ground levels, not an accurate model for use in drone operations. As stated on their website, “MetroWeather has developed a Doppler Rider that accurately measures wind information in the sky and at sea using remote sensing technology and signal processing technology cultivated over many years of research at the Institute for Sustainable Humanosphere, Kyoto University.”

A network of four Doppler Riders, each weighing 287lbs, can be placed on the roofs of skyscrapers in a city. The system will cover an 11 mile range, large enough to encapsulate, for example, all of central Tokyo. The system’s lasers will then track the movement and speed of fine dust particles in the air. This allows the LiDAR system to create a detailed map of wind strength and paths to enable safe drone flight. With this information, drone operators can make informed flight plans to carry out drone missions.

True, it is simple enough to just suspend drone operations if wind conditions are too strong. However, as companies begin to rely on using drones daily for inspections, parcel deliveries, and eventually for urban mobility, pausing operations is not feasible. “Flying these things without knowing the wind and risking crashes is inconceivable,” said MetroWeather Chief Executive Officer Junichi Furumoto. “Even more so when people are the cargo.” These businesses need a way to plan around the weather without having to ground their drones.

MetroWeather will begin testing its Doppler Rider at a NASA drone test site in Syracuse, New York that is operated by TruWeather Solutions. As the drone market is expected to have a large impact on urban mobility by 2025, having predictive wind models will become necessary for drone operations. Drones will still need to have onboard safety features, but with wind maps, these safety features can be greatly enhanced.

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