Development of measurement method of wind direction and speed using multi-copter UAV

-Based on attitude and pitot tubes-

Abstract

This paper proposes a method to measure wind direction and speed by a multi-copter UAV. The main purpose is to measure ocean surface wind, which is difficult to measure with conventional methods. The proposed method estimates the wind direction and speed in real time using the attitude of the UAV, based on the force equilibrium on the UAV. Pitot tubes are also attached to the vehicle. The crosswind performance of pitot tubes are evaluated at wind tunnel. The prototype UAV was developed and the performance of the proposed method was evaluated though sea trials.