UAH Students’ Octocopter An Aerial Option For Storm Surveys

“The perspective gained with aerial surveillance has become an integral part of weather service analysis after the storm. ‘Especially when we’re dealing with larger tornadoes, more violent tornadoes with longer tracks because it gives us a bigger, a better perspective of the damage in more of the harder hit areas,’ said Huntsville Warning Coordination Meteorologist David Nadler.

Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) such as the octo-copter seen in this video are providing an effective and affordable means fo assess storm damage by providing aerial images that can provide side-by-side views of the before and after affects of damaging storms.

The octo-copter used to capture the aerial video in this story was designed by AMA Member and UAH student Chris Sallis and his engineer buddies Mike and Richard.

“We weren’t really happy with many products on the market so we developed our own frame and integrated a lot of systems that were commercially available and some we developed ourselves,” said Sallis

Chris has been flying remote craft as a hobby for 14 years now, but this sophisticated system allows footage to be streamed instantly in real-time.

Click the link below to read the complete story online at WHNT 19 News
UAH Students’ Octocopter An Aerial Option For Storm Surveys

Rich Hanson
AMA Government and Regulatory Affairs