Design and Validation of a GPS Logger System for Recording Aerially Deployed Herbicide Ballistic Technology Operations

Herbicide ballistic technology (HBT) is an electro-pneumatic delivery system designed for administering 17.3-mm herbicide-filled projectiles (e.g., paintballs) to visually acquired weed targets. Currently, HBT is being deployed from a Hughes 500D helicopter platform in aerial surveillance operations to eliminate satellite invasive weed populations in remote natural watershed areas of Maui (HI, USA). In an effort to improve operations, we have integrated GPS and other sensor hardware into the electropneumatic device for instantaneous recording of time, origin, and trajectory of each projectile discharged by the applicator. These data are transmitted wirelessly to a custom android application that displays target information in real time both textually and graphically on a map.