WindShape, NUAIR & Syracuse University Team-up on Drone Project
By NUAIR | June 15, 2020
NUAIR, WindShape and Syracuse University Grad Students Team-up on UAS Wind Tunnel Project
Every year NUAIR seeks college-level interns interested in the unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), or “drone” industry, to give them hands-on, real-life experiences with this advanced technology. This last fall/spring semester, Syracuse University grad students Vincent James McGovern and Jean-Eric van der Elst Portero helped NUAIR and WindShape advance the drone industry by working on a UAS wind tunnel that will be used to test how different weather patterns effect drone flight.
Vincent and Jean-Eric both have their B.S. in Aerospace Engineering and are working on their Master’s in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Syracuse University. Vincent took the lead on researching integral products and components of the UAS wind tunnel, including a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) simulator and motion capture environment.
GNSS is much like the GPS in your phone, but in addition to time and location, GNSS also determines speed, vehicle motion, and more. Utilizing a GNSS simulator within a closed environment allows for the safe flight-testing of drones in different scenarios and weather conditions, removing the potential risk of putting people or property in harm’s way.