Emission Sampling with an Unmanned Aircraft System

Prescribed burning of forest undergrowth is employed to reduce the risk of wildfires by reducing fuel buildup and to restore natural species to fire-dependent habitats. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Research and Development (ORD) teamed up with Desert Research Institute (DRI) to deploy a unique sensor/sampler developed by ORD on DRI’s unmanned aircraft system (UAS) to characterize the gas and particle emissions during this prescribed burn. The sensor/sampler system, termed the “Kolibri”, characterizes a comprehensive array of gases and particles while allowing operators to stay at a safe distance.  The UAS/Kolibri system has been deployed on prescribed fires, oil fires, and propellant burns, allowing characterization of emission sources heretofore not possible.