Weather constraints on global drone flyability

Abstract Small aerial drones are used in a growing number of commercial applications. However, drones cannot fly in all weather, which impacts their reliability for time-sensitive operations. The magnitude and global variability of weather impact is poorly understood. We explore weather-limited dron...

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Autores principales:	Mozhou Gao, Chris H. Hugenholtz, Thomas A. Fox, Maja Kucharczyk, Thomas E. Barchyn, Paul R. Nesbit
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Nature Portfolio 2021
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/378963ab308848f7b12ac47360c2e48e
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id	oai:doaj.org-article:378963ab308848f7b12ac47360c2e48e
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:378963ab308848f7b12ac47360c2e48e2021-12-02T17:52:23ZWeather constraints on global drone flyability10.1038/s41598-021-91325-w2045-2322https://doaj.org/article/378963ab308848f7b12ac47360c2e48e2021-06-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-91325-whttps://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322Abstract Small aerial drones are used in a growing number of commercial applications. However, drones cannot fly in all weather, which impacts their reliability for time-sensitive operations. The magnitude and global variability of weather impact is poorly understood. We explore weather-limited drone flyability (the proportion of time drones can fly safely) by comparing historical wind speed, temperature, and precipitation data to manufacturer-reported thresholds of common commercial and weather-resistant drones with a computer simulation. We show that global flyability is highest in warm and dry continental regions and lowest over oceans and at high latitudes. Median global flyability for common drones is low: 5.7 h/day or 2.0 h/day if restricted to daylight hours. Weather-resistant drones have higher flyability (20.4 and 12.3 h/day, respectively). While these estimates do not consider all weather conditions, results suggest that improvements to weather resistance can increase flyability. An inverse analysis for major population centres shows the largest flyability gains for common drones can be achieved by increasing maximum wind speed and precipitation thresholds from 10 to 15 m/s and 0–1 mm/h, respectively.Mozhou GaoChris H. HugenholtzThomas A. FoxMaja KucharczykThomas E. BarchynPaul R. NesbitNature PortfolioarticleMedicineRScienceQENScientific Reports, Vol 11, Iss 1, Pp 1-13 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Mozhou Gao Chris H. Hugenholtz Thomas A. Fox Maja Kucharczyk Thomas E. Barchyn Paul R. Nesbit Weather constraints on global drone flyability
description	Abstract Small aerial drones are used in a growing number of commercial applications. However, drones cannot fly in all weather, which impacts their reliability for time-sensitive operations. The magnitude and global variability of weather impact is poorly understood. We explore weather-limited drone flyability (the proportion of time drones can fly safely) by comparing historical wind speed, temperature, and precipitation data to manufacturer-reported thresholds of common commercial and weather-resistant drones with a computer simulation. We show that global flyability is highest in warm and dry continental regions and lowest over oceans and at high latitudes. Median global flyability for common drones is low: 5.7 h/day or 2.0 h/day if restricted to daylight hours. Weather-resistant drones have higher flyability (20.4 and 12.3 h/day, respectively). While these estimates do not consider all weather conditions, results suggest that improvements to weather resistance can increase flyability. An inverse analysis for major population centres shows the largest flyability gains for common drones can be achieved by increasing maximum wind speed and precipitation thresholds from 10 to 15 m/s and 0–1 mm/h, respectively.
format	article
author	Mozhou Gao Chris H. Hugenholtz Thomas A. Fox Maja Kucharczyk Thomas E. Barchyn Paul R. Nesbit
author_facet	Mozhou Gao Chris H. Hugenholtz Thomas A. Fox Maja Kucharczyk Thomas E. Barchyn Paul R. Nesbit
author_sort	Mozhou Gao
title	Weather constraints on global drone flyability
title_short	Weather constraints on global drone flyability
title_full	Weather constraints on global drone flyability
title_fullStr	Weather constraints on global drone flyability
title_full_unstemmed	Weather constraints on global drone flyability
title_sort	weather constraints on global drone flyability
publisher	Nature Portfolio
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/378963ab308848f7b12ac47360c2e48e
work_keys_str_mv	AT mozhougao weatherconstraintsonglobaldroneflyability AT chrishhugenholtz weatherconstraintsonglobaldroneflyability AT thomasafox weatherconstraintsonglobaldroneflyability AT majakucharczyk weatherconstraintsonglobaldroneflyability AT thomasebarchyn weatherconstraintsonglobaldroneflyability AT paulrnesbit weatherconstraintsonglobaldroneflyability
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Weather constraints on global drone flyability

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