BLISS Technology Goes Commercial: CopterSonde Licensed to InterMet Systems
We’re excited to announce a significant milestone in the journey of our CopterSonde technology. The University of Oklahoma has licensed the CopterSonde intellectual property to InterMet Systems, paving the way for the commercialization of this innovative platform.
CopterSonde Goes Commercial
InterMet Systems, a company with 25 years of experience in building operational radiosondes and meteorological sounding systems, will be manufacturing and selling the CopterSonde 3. This development marks a crucial step in making our purpose-built Weather Uncrewed Aircraft System (WxUAS) available to the wider scientific community and industry partners.
Now Available for Purchase
We’re thrilled to report that InterMet Systems has begun making its first sales of the CopterSonde 3. This means that researchers, meteorologists, and other interested parties can now acquire this cutting-edge technology for their own projects and applications.
A Collaborative Effort
This achievement is the result of years of dedicated work by researchers at the University of Oklahoma, including several key members of the BLISS team. In particular, we’d like to recognize the contributions of:
- Tony Segales
- Tyler Bell
Their expertise and tireless efforts have been instrumental in bringing the CopterSonde from a research project to a commercial product.
The CopterSonde 3
The CopterSonde 3 represents the culmination of extensive development and field testing. It combines:
- World-class expertise in atmospheric research from OU
- Engineering prowess from our team
- InterMet Systems’ extensive experience in meteorological instrumentation
This unique blend of knowledge and skills has resulted in a WxUAS specifically designed for atmospheric research and monitoring.
Looking Ahead
While this licensing agreement is a significant milestone, it’s just the beginning of what we hope will be an ongoing collaboration. Future projects between BLISS and InterMet Systems are already in development, promising further innovations in atmospheric sensing technology.
Impact on Atmospheric Research
The commercialization of the CopterSonde 3 has the potential to revolutionize atmospheric data collection. By making this technology widely available, we’re enabling:
- More widespread and frequent atmospheric profiling
- Enhanced severe weather prediction capabilities
- Improved understanding of boundary layer processes
- New opportunities for collaborative research across institutions
We’re proud to see our research making the leap from the lab to the commercial sector, and we’re excited about the potential impacts on the field of meteorology.
Stay tuned for more updates on this collaboration and the future developments it may bring!
Dr. Antonio R. Segales
Research Engineer
My research centers around developing small unmanned aircraft systems for adaptive atmospheric sampling which involves CAD modeling, systems optimization, hardware and software integration, and control theory. I have led the design of the CopterSonde series of vehicles, which is used to perfrom controlled and targeted weather sampling at high temporal and spatial resolutions. I am also advising other projects in which sensor integration or new UAS are required.
Dr. Tyler M. Bell
Research Scientist
Tyler is a Research Associate in CIWRO working on using ground-based remote sensors and WxUAS to advance the understanding of various boundary layer processes. He is acitvely exploring ways to optimally combine data collected from WxUAS and ground-based remote sensing.