UAV tracks airborne pathogens

Virginia Tech has been the news for the tragedy on its campus two months ago, so it is good to see it in the news for more traditional reasons — the competence of its engineering faculty. A newly developed unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) detects and tracks airborne pathogens above agricultural areas. The autonomous flying robot samples the air hundreds of meters above the ground, tracking pathogens such as the Fusarium genus of fungi, which can travel long distances at high altitudes. The autonomous robots have advantages over both manned flights and radio-controlled drones. The UAV, developed by David Schmale and other researchers at the Virginia Tech Center for Autonomous Systems, can sample the air in precise patterns, often in coordinations with other UAVs working simulatneously at different altitudes. With just 75 flights, the researchers have already cataloged 500 colonies of Fusarium including 11 species not previously known to be transported this far above the Earth’s surface.

The research will expand to other types of pathogens, marking the beginning of a field one scientist calls aerogenomics.