UMARS - Contents and Objective

The research project UMARS includes several phases and a number of different activities. Besides building the unmanned flying vehicle, it is also necessary to design, develop and test the autopilot and the take-off and landing systems as well as to integrate the measurement equipment. Further tasks to perform are to define and create processes and tools required for autonomous flight and to clarify the regulatory framework for operations inside the European airspace.

The requirements are based on analysis of the current meteorological research activities and on the feedback of potential users. Studies, which are carried out at the IMES, provide the range of the main aircraft parameters, such as payload size and mass, which indicate the possible flight envelope and mission profile.

A full scale flying technology demonstrator helps the IMES to assess the validity of the assumptions made and to acquire important information and experience. In addition, it serves as a flying test bed for the autopilot. It is expected that the prototype will fly in 2012. In the end of the design and development a series production is planned.   

You can find the project progress report under "Project Status".