In the framework of Yongyong Hu’s PhD, the DFG group, in collaboration with Patrick Augustin, Marc Fourmentin and François Delattre, developed a new drone-based sensing platform for real-time mapping and profiling of carbon emissions.
With the support of Eddie Jouan (Droneopale), the first outdoor tests of atmospheric CO₂ monitoring were successfully conducted through three short UAV flights over an open-field site. These flights demonstrated the operability of the airborne system, including autonomous sampling, optical measurements, onboard data logging, spatially referenced concentration mapping, and wireless transmission for real-time monitoring from the ground station.
The successful field deployment demonstrates the potential of the drone-based carbon sensor for monitoring CO₂ and CH₄ emissions—and, in the future, their isotopic signatures—in a wide range of environments, including marine, industrial and agricultural areas.
