A month after researchers conducted a cloud-seeding test using unmanned aircraft, a Reno-based drone company is building the next generation. As Reno Public Radio’s Julia Ritchey reports, the project hopes to bring cloud seeding into the 21st century. Inside the shop at Drone America, design engineer Kyle Pruett is showing off their plans for a new unmanned, fixed-wing aircraft called the Savant. “So we have two prototype aircraft built,” says Pruett. “I’m actually integrating the wiring for the autopilot and actuators right now… so that will hopefully go into flight test within the month.” Since 2011, the company has been designing, building and manufacturing drones in its Reno workshop. Their aircrafts are used for search and rescue operations, wildland and wildlife monitoring and, now, through a partnership with the Desert Research Institute, cloud seeding. “What unmanned systems do is have the ability to potentially reduce costs and reduce risk,” says Mike Richards, CEO of the company. “That’s why we’re teaming with Desert Research to enable us to expand the opportunities of seeding in more areas, particularly where drought is a factor. ” Several Western states have had cloud seeding projects in one form or another for decades, typically using […]
