Background

Climate change is one research area on which scientists and institutions desire to compile additional and more precise data in order to acquire a deeper understanding of the human and natural forces that are shaping the global climate. Aarhus University decided to use Villum Research Station, located on Princess Ingeborg Peninsula at the northeastern corner of Greenland, as a window into the observable changes in the ice sheet. The best solution was to utilize customized UAVs by RESEIWE that by means of state-of-the-art measuring devices could gather the necessary data to gain insight into the factors at play in the rising temperatures at the North Pole and their effect on the atmosphere, the sea, the ice sheet as well as the geology and biology of the Arctic.

Challenges

Villum Research Station lies in the North-East National Park of Greenland, covering an area of 972.000 km², which makes it the largest national park in the world, also considered a biosphere reserve by UNESCO. This means that there is strict legislation regulating activities in this part of Greenland in addition to its inaccessibility. What would then happen if the drone already customized crashed during a mission to remote areas? How could it be found and retrieved? And since it is prohibited to leave behind debris in the park, how could the station ensure a successful clean-up as well as the recovery of its five million kroner drone?

Our Solution

In order to minimize the probability of a crash scenario, we fitted the drone with two different communication systems to control the drone remotely. Moreover, we equipped the drone with our Track-Drone system that allows for tracking in real time with extreme accuracy and possesses a tracking device capable of connecting to the Iridium satellite network, thus ensuring the success of locating and retrieving the drone in the event of an accident. All this information can be visualized as raw data or against a map both online and offline. Our Track-Drone system not only guaranties reliable communication, but also the possibility of finding and recovering the drone in a highly improbable crash scenario. This represents one less concern for our customers who need not be anxious about investing in state-of-the-art UAVs to carry out difficult tasks.

Our customer says…

”This first drone will be a valuable tool for a great number of scientific projects, and it will be part of future scientific studies of the ice sheet in and around Greenland”, says Henrik Skov, head of the Villum Research Station[1]. [Translation]

[1] http://scitech.au.dk/en/about-science-and-technology/current-affairs/news/show/artikel/aarhus-universitet-klar-med-foerste-drone-til-klimaopgaver-taet-paa-nordpolen/