25m to 7km altitude
up to 7 hours
and 1000km
multi-sensor
multi-platform
focus on science applications
collaborating and sharing
AIRBORNE
Remote Sensing
Bathymetric and topographic LiDAR
(532, 1064, 1550nm)
VNIR/SWIR hyperspectral
(400-2500nm)
Hi-res spectral
Thermal IR
Microwave
(active, passive, InSAR, L-,P-,Ka, Ku)
Aerial Photography
and Video
... probing the environment using the least intrusive and
cost-efficient state-of-the-art airborne technologies ...
AIRBORNE
In-Situ
Meteorological
(wind, turbulence, air temperature, humidity,
eddy fluxes, ...)
Particles
(fine, ultra-fine,
sampling, ..)
Trace Gases
(CO2, CH4, NH3, ...)
Aerosols
Multi-platform
UAV-sensors
Third Party Sensors
QuickLinks
Presentations
Publications
Image Gallery
Videos
Instrumentation
Airborne Platforms
Unrestricted research flight operations Australia-wide - day and night - over water and land.
We understand your research, because we are scientists ourselves.
Browse our projects to see our expertise
and see the Earth and our Environment as you have never seen it before
Or click here to see -
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Who we are
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What we do, and
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How we do it
Data from many of our projects is available for download on request:
Most/all ARA data available ARA data may be available Data usually not available
WHAT WE DO
Combining the most modern in-situ and remote sensing technology with the most flexible, affordable and versatile aerial platforms, we carry out our own research and make our toolkit available to the Australian and international science and R&D community.
Our approach utilises the best features of both worlds of research aviation,
- the flexibility of UAV-like technology and instrumentation, and
- the versatility and unrestricted operations of small, modern manned aircraft,
giving us the capability to cost-efficiently and rapidly integrate sensors into our airborne platforms and deploy them anywhere in Australia (and even overseas).
WHO WE ARE
We are an independent certified Not-For-Profit Approved Research Institute (ARI) with strong links into the science networks nationally and internationally.
We have a long-standing solid track record of involvement and leadership in a large number of Australian and international science-based projects where the use of airborne technologies were essential.
HOW WE OPERATE
or
SHARING IS THE KEY
Most of our work is done in collaboration or partnerships with Universities, public entities or Industry.
As an ARI, our policy will continue to keep our work as transparent and traceable as possible manifested through the use of open source software, open and free discussions with collaborators and other specialists in the field about methodologies and procedures, and by making the data collected during science-based projects available to the relevant communities through open data repositories and archives - whenever possible and controlled by appropriate procedures.
We have a policy of sharing our airborne technology, data and expertise - in particular with students, scientists and small groups and businesses such as ours.
To facilitate airborne data capture and/or trials in the context of student projects, small scientific projects and projects in collaboration with other Not-For-Profit entities, we maintain a register of desired locations and types of data on the basis of which we may then propose to combine them to make them feasible.
SPECIAL FEATURES
As our aircraft are based on advanced gliding technology, they have the capability to glide for long distances in the event of an engine failure allowing us to operate safely far out over water and over unlandable areas.
Our airborne systems do not require any airport infrastructure for their operation which makes deployment very flexible.
As we operate two nearly identical airborne platforms, there is the ability to fly a large number of sensors in tandem, or if required, identical sensors simultaneously at different altitudes.
The environmental impact of our research platforms in terms of
- carbon dioxide footprint
- exhaust pollution
-noise pollution
- visual impact
is far smaller than that of any other airborne research platform in operation today.
This has enabled us to operate over the most environmentally sensitive areas, such as flying at low altitudes over the protected coral reefs of the Great Barrier Reef or in the wilderness areas of Southern Tasmania.
ENVIRONMENTAL FOOTPRINT
SENSORS & SENSOR SUITES
airborne and ground-based
ATMOSPHERIC PARAMETERS
METpod, BATprobe and Z-Probe
(Air Temperature, Humidity, 3D-wind vector, Air Pressure)
AIRBORNE EDDY-CORRELATION (FLUXES)
(for airborne flux measurements of heat, water vapour and CO2)
TRACE GASES, PARTICLES, AEROSOL
Meteorological trace gas, particle and aerosol sensors
Aerodyne Quantum-cascade laser gas analysers (2)
(for methane, ammonia, nitrous oxide in ppb-range)
Los Gatos uGGA gas analyser
(for methane, ammonia, nitrous oxide in ppb-range)
OTHER
Other more specialised instrumentation
(radon sampler, trace gas sampler, etc]
LiDAR
Full waveform scanning LiDAR RIEGL Q560
(up to 240kHz pulse rate, operating at 1550nm)
Full waveform scanning LiDAR RIEGL Q680i-S
(up to 400kHz pulse rate, operating at 1064nm)
Bathymetric scanning LiDAR RIEGL VQ820G
(operating at 532nm)
AIRCRAFT PARAMETERS & INFRASTRUCTURE
Several high-precision IMU/GPS systems
Novatel SPAN with LITEF LCI, Novatel SPAN with LITEF ISA
tactical-grade;
3 x OXTS RT4003 L1/L2/dual antenna MEMS-based
(3D-position and inertial speed;
attitude angles, accelerations, rates)
Laser Altimeter
(Riegl LD90LR)
BATprobe and Z-Probe
(Air Angles, dynamic pressure)
Comprehensive on-board infrastructure
(PCs, Ethernet/wireless throughout, Internet connection,
flight tracker, external science power - uninterrupted
switching from ground- to aircraft power, etc.)
THERMAL INFRARED
Thermal Infrared imager
(FLIR A615 & S60)
STILL & VIDEO
Hi-res still and video cameras
(Canon 1D, 5D; GoPro, other)
HYPERSPECTRAL & SPECTRAL
Hyper-spectral scanner SPECIM EAGLE II
(optimised ARA version, VNIR 400-1000nm, up to 488 bands, 1024 pixels/line)
Hyper-spectral scanner SPECIM HAWK
(optimised ARA version, SWIR 970-2500nm, up to 254 bands, 320 pixels/line)
Tri-spectral imager MosaicMill CANON 6D
(red, green, nir - mainly for ndvi - 21 MPix)
Tri-spectral scanner ARA/AWI TSLS
(red, green, nir - mainly for ndvi - 2048 cross-track pixels, 50lps)
Single Band line scanner RUNNER
( single band btw 390 and 1050nm - 2048 cross-track pixels, >1KH lps )
MICROWAVE
Passive microwave L-Band radiometry
(for soil moisture, sea surface / river salinity)
Passive microwave P-, Ka- Ku-Band radiometry
(for soil moisture, sea surface / river salinity)
Active L-Band microwave SAR, InSAR
(for high-res soil moisture, salinity, vegetation)
GROUND-BASED
GPS Basestation
Spectrometer ASD
10m high mobile Flux Tower
Riegl VZ400i Terrestrial Lidar (collaboration with MAXIM Foundation)