George Thorneycroft: Unmanned Air Systems at USRI, Stillwater Oklahoma

This Monday the 18th, both Simon Lovely and I began our internships at the Oklahoma State University Unmanned Systems Research Institute (USRI) under Dr. Jamey Jacob. Immediately our group of 7 high school interns was briefed on lab rules, practices, and our projects for the next month.

We were presented with the task of designing an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to carry a telemetry instrument used to measure atmospheric parameters known as a radiosonde. Although radiosondes are usually attached to weather balloons, Dr. Jacob wanted it to be carried by an unmanned fixed-wing vehicle (basically an airplane) for the sake of versatility. This project is part of “Cloud-Map”, a collaborative initiative to use UAVs to map meteorological phenomena.

Our next task is to design a UAV for the purpose of collecting dolphin mucus from its spray. This will serve the purpose of gathering mucus for the analysis of the health and physical state of dolphins without causing them harm or stress.

  In the lab, we soon began working on prototypes and test vehicles to begin working out the logistics of our tasks. we were confronted by challenges such as increasing the flight endurance of our aircraft, designing a mountable system to collect mist, decrypting telemetry from the radiosonde unit and many more.

Outside the lab, Simon and I got settled into our apartment. The student housing unit in which we are staying includes a 24-hour gym, a game room, a movie theatre, and a pool. This has kept us occupied for the past week. I look forward to continuing my research in the USRI lab and looking into other activities available in Stillwater.