Meteomatics
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Weather |
| Founded | March 20, 2012 in St. Gallen, Switzerland |
| Founder | Martin Fengler |
| Headquarters | , Switzerland |
Area served | Worldwide |
| Website | meteomatics |
Meteomatics AG is a private Swiss weather technology company headquartered in St. Gallen. Meteomatics was founded by German mathematician Dr. Martin Fengler in 2012. It is the largest among private meteorological companies.
Meteomatics manufactures weather drones that fly up to 6 km to collect data from the mid and low levels of the atmosphere. The company also provides meteorological consulting services and forecast and historical weather data through an API. In 2022, Meteomatics launched EURO1k, a weather model that covers Europe with a resolution of 1 km.[1]
Technology
Meteodrones
Meteomatics started developing Meteodrones, which are weather drones, in 2013. Meteodrones are small flying weather stations capable of gathering pressure, temperature, humidity, wind direction, and wind speed in the lower 6 km of the atmosphere.[2] Whilst remotely sensed data from satellites, radar and ceilometers are available for this altitude range, in situ observations are considered the most reliable by meteorologists. Operational challenges associated with aircraft missions (which are expensive and hence sporadic) and radiosondes (which cannot be controlled during flight) leave an in situ observational gap to be filled.[3]
Meteodrones measure vertical profiles at a single location, collecting temperature, humidity, barometric pressure, and wind data. Heated rotor systems prevent propeller icing, which allows equipped drones to fly through fog, clouds, and rain.[4] The drone flights can be carried out manually or autonomously from a container equipped with recharging capabilities.[5]
Campaigns in association with the Federal Office for Meteorology and Climatology (MeteoSwiss) have demonstrated the feasibility of assimilating drone measurement data into a regional weather model.[5][6]
In 2015, the Swiss Federal Office of Civil Aviation granted Meteomatics permission to fly Meteodrones within clouds and fog, to operate beyond visual line of sight, and to fly up to 6 km above ground level.[7][8]
The Meteodrone is the first weather drone used operationally in the United States.[9] They have been used by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to support the early detection of tornadoes and severe thunderstorms in the United States,,. They are also used to increase flight time of uncrewed aircraft systems by Grand Forks Air Force Base.[10][11]
In October 2022, the Swiss Museum of Transport in Lucerne added the SUI-9999 Meteodrone to its permanent Aviation exhibition.
Weather API
Meteomatics provides global forecast and historical weather data through a RESTful API and a WMS/WFS-compatible interface.[12][13]
The Swiss broadcasting company SRF and the German weather forecasting website www.wetter.de use Meteomatics’ weather data to inform its weather forecasts.[14]
European Weather Model–EURO1k
In October 2022, Meteomatics presented its European weather model, EURO1k, at the Meteorological Technology World Expo. EURO1k covers the European continent with a resolution of 1 km.[1][15]
References
- ^ a b "Meteorological Technology World Expo 2023". www.meteorologicaltechnologyworldexpo.com. Retrieved 2022-12-07.
- ^ "Meteomatics Weather Drone Testing". Digital Jersey. Retrieved 2022-12-07.
- ^ Pinto, James O.; O’Sullivan, Debbie; Taylor, Stewart; Elston, Jack; Baker, C. B.; Hotz, David; Marshall, Curtis; Jacob, Jamey; Barfuss, Konrad; Piguet, Bruno; Roberts, Greg; Omanovic, Nadja; Fengler, Martin; Jensen, Anders A.; Steiner, Matthias (2021-11-01). "The Status and Future of Small Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (UAS) in Operational Meteorology". Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. 102 (11): E2121–E2136. doi:10.1175/BAMS-D-20-0138.1. ISSN 0003-0007.
- ^ Retired), Dawn M. K. Zoldi (Colonel, USAF; Retired), Dawn M. K. Zoldi (Colonel, USAF (2022-05-16). "Meteomatics, Swiss Weather Drone Company, Marks 10 Year Anniversary With New Launches and Partnerships". Inside Unmanned Systems. Retrieved 2022-12-07.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b Leuenberger, Daniel; Haefele, Alexander; Omanovic, Nadja; Fengler, Martin; Martucci, Giovanni; Calpini, Bertrand; Fuhrer, Oliver; Rossa, Andrea (2020-07-17). "Improving High-Impact Numerical Weather Prediction with Lidar and Drone Observations". Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. 101 (7): E1036–E1051. doi:10.1175/BAMS-D-19-0119.1. ISSN 0003-0007.
- ^ "Meteomatics: Drohnen erfassen Wetterdaten in der Nacht". www.startupticker.ch. Retrieved 2022-12-07.
- ^ Press (2015-03-18). "Meteomatics is the first Swiss Company to receive the BVLOS-Approval for mini UAVs". sUAS News - The Business of Drones. Retrieved 2022-12-07.
- ^ "Meteomatics darf "Beyond Visual Line of Sight" fliegen". www.startupticker.ch. Retrieved 2022-12-07.
- ^ "The first drone to collect weather data in the U.S. may launch this fall". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2022-12-07.
- ^ Quadcopter 440 (2022-05-19). "GrandSky Executes Agreement with TruWeather Solutions and Meteomatics". UASweekly.com. Retrieved 2022-12-07.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ McNabb, Miriam (2022-07-25). "Statewide Micro-Weather Services in North Dakota for Advanced Drone Ops: TruWeather and Meteomatics". DRONELIFE. Retrieved 2022-12-07.
- ^ AG, Meteomatics, meteomatics: Meteomatics API connector, retrieved 2022-12-07
- ^ thurgau, chrisign gmbh, web management, weinfelden (2020-09-02). "Weltweit bessere Wetterdaten dank Meteomatics". LEADER Digital - Das Ostschweizer Wirtschaftsportal (in German). Retrieved 2022-12-07.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ magazine, booster (2018-02-11). "Meteomatics AG revolutioniert Wettervorhersagen | booster magazine" (in German). Retrieved 2022-12-07.
- ^ Enz, Kaspar. "Für Aufbau des genausten Wettermodells: St.Galler Meteomatics erhält 13,5 Millionen". St. Galler Tagblatt (in German). Retrieved 2022-12-07.