ETH Meets You in Brazil with AtlantikSolar 18 - 30 October 2015
ETH Zurich has teamed up with swissnex Brazil and Presence Switzerland to bring AtlantikSolar to Brazil. AtlantikSolar, a key project of the Autonomous Systems Laboratory at ETH Zurich, is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that demonstrates how promising solar technology benefits both society and the environment.
The flight
Scientists from the ETH Zurich autonomous systems laboratory will for the first time perform a long distance flight with a solar-powered unmanned airplane in the dense Amazon forest. The aircraft - an autonomous vehicle (UAV) named AtlantikSolar – will fly over a section of the forest between Barcarena and Caxiuanã, in Pará, on 22 October.
The flight will serve as a test with which the scientists aim to investigate the autonomy and the resistance of the aircraft in climatic conditions different from those in Europe. It was made possible through the close cooperation with local partners, external pageCensipam (Centro Gestor e Operacional do Sistema de Proteção da Amazônia), the external pageInstituto Emilio Goeldi, the external pageFederal University of Pará, the external pageInstituto Chico Mendes for Biodiversity and the State Secretariat of Pará. During the test flight atmospheric data will be collected – such as temperature, atmospheric pressure, humidity, solar radiation and wind speed. The data will be used to validate and complement studies on the function and the dynamics of the Amazon forest, which are currently performed with locally fixed sensors and satellites.
The project marks the strengthening of partnerships in science and technological innovation between Brazil and Switzerland, through new collaboration and partnerships between individual researchers. It is supported by Presence Switzerland, external pageswissnex Brazil and ETH Zurich. In addition to the test flights, a series of lectures, conferences, and exhibits will focus on UAVs, solar energy and other aspects of ETH Zurich research and cooperation with Brazil over a two-week period from 18 – 30 October 2015.
Watch AtlantikSolar in their preparations for the Amazon mission: external pagehttp://uk.reuters.com/video/2015/10/14/solar-plane-prepares-for-amazon-mission?videoId=365936569&videoChannel=4000&channelName=Technology
Schedule of Events
19 October Official opening of AtlantikSolar activities in Brazil by the Swiss Ambassador with a public conference in Belém
20 October Scientific workshop with the Brazilian project partners in Belém (closed event)
21 October Preparations and testing for Amazon flight
22 October Long distance flight from the Barcarena area in Belém to Caxiuanã (if weather permits)
23 October Exploratory flights over the Caxiuanã National Forest
24 October Exploratory flights over the Caxiuanã National Forest
28 October Opening of AtlantikSolar exhibition and public conference in São Paulo
29 October AtlantikSolar Presentation in the external pageDrone Show Latin America and VIP Event with the ETH Alumni Brazil
For event details, programmes and registration please see the box below and check for updates.
More information about AtlantikSolar
Visit the AtlantikSolar project page for technical details, news and pictures.
Conferences and events in Brazil
To learn more about AtlantikSolar in Brazil, its partners and the detail programme of conferences and events in Belém and Sao Paulo visit the external pageswissnex Brazil project page and watch the external pagepromo video (partly in Portuguese).