Systems, methods, aircraft, non-transitory media, and memories are provided. An avionics system for an aircraft includes a storage device and one or more data processors. The storage device stores instructions for converting between airspeed types and the one or more data processors is configured to execute the instructions to: generate a calibrated airspeed of the aircraft; convert the calibrated airspeed to an actual true airspeed of the aircraft; determine an initial approximate relationship between the calibrated airspeed and a computed true airspeed as a function of a pressure altitude of the aircraft; generate an adjusted approximate relationship based on the actual true airspeed and the initial approximate relationship at a chosen pressure altitude; and estimate a future airspeed of the aircraft based on the adjusted approximate relationship and a future altitude.

A device, system and method is provided for obtaining and processing turbulence data via communication devices located on-board airplanes. Turbulence data obtained by a plurality of communication devices may be received during flights on-board respective ones of a plurality of airplanes. Turbulence map data may be generated by super-positioning the turbulence data received from the plurality of communication devices onto a single tempo-spatial frame of reference. The turbulence map data may be distributed to one or more of the communication devices. A device, system and method is also provided for generating turbulence map data that may reduce or eliminate false positive turbulence events. A device, system and method is also provided for communicating with on-board communication devices operating in a flight crew mode or a passenger mode.

A flying device includes a propulsion unit, a distance sensor, a controller, a determiner and a control modifier. The propulsion unit enables the flying device to fly in air. The distance sensor determines a distance from the flying device to a reference plane. The controller controls an altitude of the flying device based on a value output from the distance sensor. The determiner determines occurrence of an environmental change due to a shift of the reference plane. The control modifier modifies control of the controller in a case in which the determiner determines the occurrence of the environmental change.

The present invention relates to a method and system for gathering data along points of travel using common portable electronic devices that are typically used for other functions. More specifically, the data gathered by these portable electronic devices may be accessed, processed, validated, and used in conjunction with, or alone, to produce, augment, and/or validate other data sets across wide ranges of science and technology.

A method, a system and an apparatus for adaptively sensing a gas leak. The method includes: obtaining wind data from a wind sensor, identifying at least one wireless mote in a plurality of wireless motes that is most likely to detect a gas plume from the wind data, activating the identified at least one wireless mote to trigger measuring gas concentration of the gas plume, and identifying the location of the gas leak if the gas concentration is above a predetermined threshold. Also included is a system for adaptively sensing a gas leak having a wind sensor, a plurality of wireless motes and a server in communication therewith. An apparatus for adaptively sensing a gas leak in an industrial site is also provided.

Aircraft system and method detecting and present information relating to adverse airborne phenomena along an aircraft flight route. An imaging unit that includes an IR detector and a tunable spectral filter acquires IR images of the external environment, by acquiring wideband IR images when operating in a second mode. A data analysis unit detects and determines characteristics of adverse airborne phenomena in the environment based on at least the spectral signatures of environmental features in the acquired narrowband IR images. A display unit dynamically displays a visual representation of the detected adverse airborne phenomenon and its determined characteristics, overlaid onto a view of the external environment displayed to an operator of the aircraft. The visual representation may include variable visual attributes representing respective categories of characteristics of the detected adverse airborne phenomenon.

A system configured to provide output indicative of crop spraying conditions in an agricultural region, the system including: an input configured to receive data from at least one monitoring physical tower, wherein the physical tower extends from ground level in the agricultural region, wherein the tower includes one or more anemometers configured to measure respective wind speeds at one or more predetermined heights above the ground level; a processor which is configured to process periodic values of respective wind speeds at the one or more predetermined heights above the ground level, thereby to derive a real-time measure representative of a local vertical turbulence characteristic for the location of the monitoring tower, wherein the real-time measure representative of a local vertical turbulence characteristic for the location of the monitoring tower is based on a standard deviation of vertical wind speed; and an output device which is configured to provide the output indicative of crop spraying conditions based on a comparison between: (i) the real-time measure representative of the local vertical turbulence characteristic; and (ii) one or more predetermined threshold values.

Systems and methods of detecting type I ice crystals using an aircraft's onboard weather radar system are disclosed. An exemplary embodiment identifies radar returns having a return level signal strength less than a radar return sensitivity threshold level, determines if at least one of a weather condition and a flight condition concurrently exists with the identified radar returns having the return level signal strength less than the radar return sensitivity threshold level, and identifies a region of airspace potentially having type I ice crystals when the at least one of the weather condition and the flight condition concurrently exists with the identified radar returns having the return level signal strength less than the radar return sensitivity threshold level.

The present disclosure is of an atmospheric characterization system that has a central processing board that has a first and a second communication interface. Further, the atmospheric characterization system further has a first precision temperature sensor that is communicatively coupled to the central processing board via the first communication interface and positioned a distance from a first side of the processing board, wherein the precision temperature measures a first temperature and transfers data indicative of the first temperature to the central processing board. In addition, the atmospheric characterization system has a second precision temperature sensor that is communicatively coupled to the central processing board via the second communication interface and positioned the distance from a second opposing side of the processing board such that the first precision temperature sensor and the second precision temperature sensor are equidistance from the processing board and a distance between the first precision sensor and the second precision sensor is a predetermined distance, r, and the second precision temperature sensor measures a second temperature and transfers data indicative of the second temperature to the central processing board simultaneously with the transferring of the first temperature. Additionally, the atmospheric characterization system has a processor that receives the first temperature and the second temperature and calculates a value indicative of atmospheric turbulence based upon the first temperature and the second temperature, wherein the value indicative of the atmospheric turbulence is used for designing, modifying, calibrating, or correcting an optical system.

Systems and methods for detection of atmospheric conditions using optical orbital angular momentum (OAM)-based spectroscopy include applying OAM states to a light beam to generate an OAM spectrum, transmitting OAM light beams into an atmosphere, and determining degradation of the generated OAM light beams passing through atmospheric turbulence. A rotation rate of aerosols in the atmosphere is determined by analyzing different frequency shifts in OAM states of OAM light beams. A reflected OAM spectrum including a plurality of OAM light beams associated with the aerosols in the atmosphere may be received, and Doppler frequency shifts caused by reflection off the aerosols in the atmosphere may be measured. Laguerre-Gaussian (LG) modes of the received light beams may be detected and sorted based on the OAM states of the LG modes, and wind turbulence values are predicted by analyzing a difference in the Doppler frequency shifts for the received OAM light beams.