Sample-Collecting Drones

(1:26:41) Guest: Carrick Detweiler, assistant professor of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Nebraska  Now that the Federal Aviation Administration has released rules on when and where drones can fly in the U.S., we’re beginning to hear about a range of possibilities for small unmanned aerial vehicles that go beyond delivering packages or spying on your neighbors.  Scientists are keen to use drones in their research.  Dr. Carrick Detweiler is working on just that—he’s an assistant professor of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Nebraska.  Detweiler is working with physical water scientists to figure out where the water might be coming from, and how they may be connecting with each other.  “Right now these vehicles are very good at flying high and taking pictures,” says Detweiler, “in the future they could go out and take samples or place sensors.”  The new regulations by the Federal Aviation Administration slow down some of Detweiler’s hopes for development, given that drones must remain in “line of sight” of an operator. Detweiler hopes that they may one day fully automate the system.