Dr Bahareh Zaghari secures 1.2 million pounds for airborne acoustic sensing system

Dr Bahareh Zaghari from the Electrical Power Engineering Group at the University of Southampton has secured £1.2 million from ARIA to develop μSODAR, an airborne acoustic sensing system that could help aircraft understand the atmosphere ahead.

The project, μSODAR: Micro Airborne Acoustic Sensing for Real-Time Atmospheric Mapping, has been selected as a TA1 Technology Creator in ARIA’s £70 million Enduring Atmospheric Platforms programme, led by Programme Director Rico Chandra.

Conventional SODAR systems are stationary, bulky and energy intensive. Dr Zaghari and her team aim to develop a compact, lightweight and low-power system that can operate from a flying aircraft. By analysing acoustic returns onboard, μSODAR will seek to detect upstream winds, thermals and turbulence, giving aircraft information they could use to navigate more efficiently and remain aloft for longer. Beyond persistent high-altitude flight, μSODAR could have applications in advanced air mobility, weather monitoring at vertiports and heliports, wind measurement for renewable energy, and next-generation aircraft sensing.

Saqqara Aerospace is the project partner who will contribute its airborne sensing expertise to development, validation and the pathway towards commercialisation. Limosaero and Radical will support flight testing and validation, including the longer-term ambition of testing on high-altitude platforms.