BY DAVID HILL

Staff writer

Griffiss International Airport’s unmanned-aircraft test facility was the venue recently for two companies working on ways for drones to adapt to the weather, an important part of getting them ready for wider commercial use.

Windshape, based in Geneva, Switzerland, uses an array of small fans to generate various shifting wind profiles for evaluating drones in a controlled environment. It tested the impact of the wind on the air worthiness and performance of various types of unmanned aircraft systems at the New York State test site at Griffiss, according to the Northeast Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration Research Alliance.

The tests were held with TruWeather, a company whose technology is designed to predict weather with great detail and precision. Understanding how wind affects particular drones can help the company tailor its technology.

The ultimate goal is to show that drones can be safely flown outside the operator’s direct line of sight, thus convincing government authorities, primarily the Federal Aviation Administration, that they can take on more applications.

“Our goal is to support the drone industry by providing drone specific test solutions,” said Windshape CEO Guillaume Catry in a statement from NUAIR. “We believe we can facilitate the drone industry by allowing manufacturers to demonstrate that their drones can overcome weather obstacles and safely achieve their mission.”

TruWeather says publicly available and commercial weather forecasts are seldom detailed enough for drones, which are usually small and highly susceptible to subtle changes in wind. The company hopes to make weather alerts and predictions specifically tailored for each drone. Co-fouder Don Berchoff said a weather simulator to test and certify drones in varying weather conditions can help develop such weather analytics and ultimately increase drone safety, productivity and revenue generation.

Controlled-environment testing is a major avenue NUAIR and Oneida County have been pursuing to make Griffiss an even bigger venue for drone development. The former Air Force base is still a general aviation airport used by private, charter and some military craft, but the county-owned facility is increasingly focusing on the drone industry. 

NUAIR is a New York based not-for-profit coalition of several hundred private and public entities and academic institutions. NUAIR leads, manages, oversees, and coordinates operations at the NY UAS Test Site. NUAIR is responsible to the FAA and NASA to conduct operations for UAS testing.