Spatially distributed and simultaneous wind measurements with a fleet of small quadrotor UAS

Kurzfassung

The understanding of micro-scale flow in the atmospheric boundary layer is one major challenge in wind energy research. Besides the broad possibilities of numerical simulations, experimental data are necessary for tests of the flow conditions within a wind farm under real conditions. In wind energy and atmospheric science, a variety of measurement devices exist for measuring the wind speed. We propose a measurement system that enables completely flexible simultaneous wind measurements using a fleet of multirotor unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). This approach is validated through a two-week measurement campaign at the boundary layer field site Falkenberg of the German National Meteorological Service (DWD).