Scientists from the BLISS group are part of an efffort at NSSL in collaboration with CIWRO to develop an uncrewed aircraft system (UAS)-based approach to better characterize high-wind damage to vegetation and in rural areas to improve disaster response and recovery. This effort has led to the aquisition of multiple UAS platforms capable of surface imaging.
The Trinity is a fixed-wing platform with vertical take-off and landing capbility. It has a 7.5 foot wingspan and up to 90 min flight time. It can carry a variety of payloads appropriate for a variety of applications. The NSSL platform is equipped with a visible (Sony UMC – R10C) and multispectral camera (Micasense RedEdge-MX) to collect visible and multispectral imagery.
The Skydio is a 4-propeller copter platform primarily used for scouting purposes to design flight platterns for the Trinity. It is a small, nimble copter with high resolution video capability.