Autonomous systems for surveying extreme weather
Petrel Atmospheric builds autonomous aircraft that collect measurements inside tropical cyclones and severe storms. EYEWALL plans your mission and coordinates the fleet as storm conditions change.
Get in touchStorms are getting harder to ignore.
Tropical cyclones are becoming more intense and bringing heavier rain. As the risk grows, so does the need for accurate measurements.
The most useful data comes from inside the storm, in the inflow and around the eyewall. These measurements show how a storm is developing and help predict where it will go and how strong it will become. Today that data comes from crewed reconnaissance flights, which are expensive and almost never fly in Australia.
Petrel's aircraft, flown by EYEWALL, can go there often and at low cost, so research teams and forecasters can collect data that was previously out of reach.
Fully autonomous missions, driven by the data you need.
EYEWALL plans and executes your mission, adjusting each aircraft's flight path as the storm moves. If conditions make the mission unsafe or unachievable, it changes the plan or brings the aircraft home.
Who it is for
Research teams
Measure the inflow, the boundary layer and the region around the eyewall, where direct observations are rarely available. Missions are set up ahead of time, ready to fly as soon as a storm develops.
Forecasters
Centre fixes and measurements around the eyewall show where the storm is and how strong it is, giving forecast models direct observations of the storm's current state.
Risk and insurance
Wind speeds measured near the coast as the storm approaches provide direct observations of the conditions that cause damage.
Our technology
Onboard storm modelling
Each aircraft builds its own model of the storm from its measurements and the fleet's, updating it throughout the flight. It uses that model to locate the centre and plan its path relative to the moving storm.
Mission planning and fleet coordination
EYEWALL divides the mission across the fleet and checks every flight plan before launch. In flight, the aircraft share their measurements and redistribute the work as conditions change.
Mission rehearsal
Missions can be flown in simulation before launch, against past cyclones from reanalysis data or custom storm scenarios. The simulation shows the planned flights and the measurements they are expected to collect.
What we are looking for
EYEWALL is well advanced and tested in simulation. The next steps are the first aircraft, approval to fly them, and the first storm missions.
Investment
Investment gets our first aircraft flying and pays for the testing needed to gain approval for long-range autonomous flight. Those are the last steps before our first real missions.
Technical collaborators
Engineers and climate scientists who want to work with us, and companies looking to partner on the aircraft, operations or the data.
Researchers
Atmospheric scientists and research groups who need observations from tropical cyclones and severe storms. Our early test flights will be planned around the data our first research partners need.
The software
We are developing EYEWALL's mission planning, onboard flight software and simulation, and testing them across a range of storm scenarios. Complete multi-aircraft missions are already being flown in simulation, and the remaining work is integration with the flight hardware.
First aircraft
We are designing our first prototype aircraft running EYEWALL. Its first flights will build flight experience and test the mission planner on real hardware, preparing the system for operational use.
Investment funds the prototypes and their first flight tests.
Approvals
We will use our flight test results to apply for an operator certificate and approval for long-range autonomous flight.
Partners with flight operations experience can help us get there sooner.
First storms
Our first missions will survey severe storms over land, followed by tropical cyclones, in partnership with researchers.
Early research partners will set what these missions measure.
Get in touch
If you are interested in research collaboration, investment or working with us, email us.