K
Kathleen Martin
Guest
Fog delays at airports could soon disappear if a Christchurch start-up's idea takes off.
Millions of flights worldwide are delayed or cancelled by fog every year, but the solution could be a drone.
Pyper Vision is being backed by the Government to develop a drone capable of grounding fog instead of planes.
While in the air, the coffee table-sized drone releases a substance into the sky designed to soak the fog up.
"It just flies over the final approach of an airport, so it's a 10-minute operation and we can get hours' worth of visibility over the critical area that pilots and air traffic controllers need," Pyper Vision CEO Emily Blythe said.
"The absorbent itself mimics a natural dispersal of fog. It absorbs the moisture in the air as it falls to the ground."
The need for this technology was made clearer this week with hundreds of flights in and out of Wellington cancelled.
"It's worth billions as an opportunity worldwide if you can solve it," Research, Science and Innovation Minister Megan Woods said.
Continue reading: https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2022/04/kiwi-company-pyper-vision-creates-game-changing-drone-that-could-be-solution-to-flight-delays-cancellations-because-of-fog.html
Millions of flights worldwide are delayed or cancelled by fog every year, but the solution could be a drone.
Pyper Vision is being backed by the Government to develop a drone capable of grounding fog instead of planes.
While in the air, the coffee table-sized drone releases a substance into the sky designed to soak the fog up.
"It just flies over the final approach of an airport, so it's a 10-minute operation and we can get hours' worth of visibility over the critical area that pilots and air traffic controllers need," Pyper Vision CEO Emily Blythe said.
"The absorbent itself mimics a natural dispersal of fog. It absorbs the moisture in the air as it falls to the ground."
The need for this technology was made clearer this week with hundreds of flights in and out of Wellington cancelled.
"It's worth billions as an opportunity worldwide if you can solve it," Research, Science and Innovation Minister Megan Woods said.
Continue reading: https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2022/04/kiwi-company-pyper-vision-creates-game-changing-drone-that-could-be-solution-to-flight-delays-cancellations-because-of-fog.html
