LoRa based remote expendable radiosonde network for environmental observations

The aim of the work is to design and develop a remote radiosonde cluster network and receiver station based on LoRa radio communication protocol. The designed remote sensing unit, radiosonde, should be light (less then 20 gr) and expendable as much as possible. The radiosonde tracks variations of physical and chemical quantities in the surrounding environmental ambient. Primary target of this this new kind of radiosonde is to obtain Lagrangian statistics of turbulence fluctuations inside warm clouds, clear-air and cloud-clear-air mixing regions. However, the application of the sensor network is not limited and can be extended to other contexts, such as environmental monitoring over urban and industrial areas. The radiosonde is made of the radioprobe attached to a biodegradable balloon filled with a mixture of helium and air. The system is able to float inside and around clouds for a time span of the order of a few hours and measure fluctuations of air temperature, pressure, humidity position, velocity and acceleration along its own trajectory. In this manner, the system can provide a multi-point endoscopic view of the flow by following the air parcels in passive way.