Systems and sensorsDr. Bertrand Dano

©Altapic.com, 2014

Overview of the systemAdvantages of Balloons vs. Bladed-UAVS

Systems and sensors

Gimbal system and controls

Sensors and applications

ALTA Flying Modes

ALTA balloons can either: Hover (single or multi tethers) Drift

Balloon Aerodynamics

Tethered: flow laminar under the balloon. Drifting: virtually no air flow. Ideal to study wind and atmosphere

Quad+ Aerodynamics Highly turbulent and re-circulating flow

Compromises air sample Inadequate for atmospheric studies.

ALTA Gimbal SystemProvides:• Geo-location• Image stabilization• Image geo-referenced

Stabilization is obtained using a high-performance GPS-Aided Inertial Navigation System. Advanced Kalman filtering algorithms to provide optimal estimates of position, velocity, and orientation.

ALTA Gimbal System

3-axis stabilization• Pan• Roll• Pitch

ALTA Skypad Software

•Point and click•Stare and Gaze modes

Remotely controlled Instantly availableanywhere in the world

ALTA SkyPad – Gaze mode

ALTA SkyPad – Stare mode

ALTA Cameras

• 5 Mpixel (visible spectrum)• 5 Mpixel Near IR (Visible w/ red filter removed)• Thermal IR camera (FLIR)• Multispectral camera (??)

Systems and sensorsData acquisition• Onboard 8 channels ADC• Geo-located (stored in image EXIF)

Categories• Essential• Pollution• Wind data• Air content• Radioactivity• …

Essential atmospheric data: •Altitude•Pressure•Temperature• Humidity

IMU already provides: 3-axis accelerometer, 3-axis gyroscope, 3-axis magnetometer, and a barometric pressure sensor.

Air Pollution:• O3-Nox (MQ131)• Methane (MQ-4)• CO (MQ-7)• …

MQ series are semiconductor based sensors:

FeatureHigh sensitivityFast responseWide detection rangeStable performance and long lifeSimple drive circuit

SO2

NOx

Urban Pollution

Gas Sensors:• CO2 (MG-811)• O2 (ME3-O2)• …

MQ series are semiconductor based sensors:FeatureHigh sensitivityFast responseWide detection rangeStable performance and long lifeSimple drive circuit

O2

CO2

Sea-Mangrove-Air gas exchange

Wind Data:• Direction• Magnitude (hot-film)

Air dust content:• Particles/dust sensor (Smoke, pollen count)

Radioactivity:• Geiger counter

15g

Air dust content:• Particles/dust sensor (Smoke, pollen count)

Radioactivity:• Geiger counter

15g

Questions ?

Thanks !

SO2

NOx

O2

CO2

Sea-air gas exchange

Urban Pollution Forest gas exchange