Latest news with #AeroVision
Time of India
7 hours ago
- Science
- Time of India
IIT-I's AI system to forecast air quality in Indian cities
Indore: The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Indore has developed AeroVision , a weather forecast system designed to predict air quality for the next six days in Indian cities and towns. By analysing 12 years of hourly air quality data alongside weather and atmospheric information, the system forecasts levels of six key pollutants-PM2.5, PM10, CO, SO₂, NO₂, and O₃-with accuracy consistently above 95%. Developed by Prof. Manish Kumar Goyal and his research team, including Kuldeep Singh Rautela from the Department of Civil Engineering, AeroVision utilises advanced artificial intelligence technologies such as Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN), Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM), and Gated Recurrent Units (GRU). The system also collects weather data including temperature, rainfall, wind speed, air pressure, and humidity, as well as atmospheric conditions like the vertical dispersion of pollution and hours of sunshine. Professor Suhas Joshi, director of IIT Indore said, "AeroVision is a step towards empowering citizens with the ability to foresee and mitigate the health impacts of air pollution. By providing reliable, location-specific forecasts, it aligns with our vision of using science and technology for societal well-being and sustainable living." The data is gathered hourly from a 25-kilometre grid across various regions. Professor Goyal added, "This system converts complex pollution data into a simple, colour-coded Air Quality Index (AQI) following Indian standards, along with health warnings and activity recommendations. It enables individuals, communities, and policymakers to plan outdoor activities, take preventive health measures, and respond to pollution events in advance." The AQI operates similarly to a traffic light system: Green (0-50) indicates good air quality, Yellow (51-100) is moderate but requires caution for sensitive individuals, Orange (101-200) is unhealthy for sensitive groups, Red (201-300) is unhealthy for everyone, and Purple (301+) is very unhealthy, advising avoidance of outdoor activities.
Yahoo
29-07-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
NASA Wants To Drop Helicopter Drones On Mars To Scout For Manned Landing Sites
In 2021, NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab successfully launched the first powered flight on another planet with the Ingenuity drone helicopter, co-developed with AeroVironment, Inc. Now, the two are proposing to do it again, with one big change: They want to launch not one, but six new helicopters, and what's more, they want to launch them as they're descending from Mars orbit. Why bother with this pesky "ground" you speak of? Much cheaper to lift off when you're already in the air. The mission is called Skyfall, which I guess no one told them was also the name of a James Bond movie. The idea is for a capsule to drop down towards the Martian surface, open up before it impacts, and out will fly the six helicopters. Each drone will then fly a different route, using cameras and radar to scan what's underneath the surface. This will hopefully detect water, ice, or other resources that would make for a good landing site for an eventual manned mission to the red planet. It's even possible that this process could "advance the nation's quest to discover whether Mars was ever habitable." Could a robot helicopter dropped from space find aliens on another planet? Probably not, but also, please yes. Read more: Here's Every Car Company Volkswagen Owns Right Now The Importance Of Ingenuity When it first lifted off from Martian soil, Ingenuity only hoped to traverse 980 feet over the span of a few weeks. Instead, the plucky American aviator covered 10.5 miles over three years. It did finally crash in January 2024, during which it suffered rotor damage too severe to ever get it to fly again. While the cause of the crash remains unknown (kind of hard to do an investigation on Mars), Ingenuity soldiers on, dutifully serving as a static weather station now. I'd say that was a pretty successful mission, all things considered. Clearly NASA agrees, since the Skyfall mission is effectively a major expansion of Ingenuity; the new helicopter drones will be upgraded versions of that design, made by the same public-private partners, JPL and AeroVision respectively. Exactly how public vs how private may be shifting, however. AeroVision says that it will be taking on some of the work that JPL originally did "commercializing" Mars drones this time around. That sounds in line with the Trump administration's push to move traditionally government-run operations, like retrieving astronauts, to corporations instead. NASA is also under threat of crippling proposed budget cuts, so it might not even be able to do the work it used to do. I, for one, think the Martian aliens will welcome their new American corporate overlords. Either way, Skyfall won't be lifting off of Earth's soil until at least 2028. If all goes well, air traffic will be getting pretty thick underneath red skies by the end of the decade. Want more like this? Join the Jalopnik newsletter to get the latest auto news sent straight to your inbox... Read the original article on Jalopnik.
