A scalable 2D, low power airflow probe for unmanned vehicle and WSN applications

Abstract

A compact anemometer, capable of detecting the magnitude and direction of the wind in a plane, is presented. The device constitutes an evolution of a class of sensors that exploit a recently proposed original approach, involving fluidic processing of the pressures induced around a cylinder. A significant size reduction with respect to previous prototypes has been achieved by the use of a tiny differential pressure sensor based on a MEMS System on a Chip. Preliminary characterization performed in a wind tunnel is presented.