Articles | Volume 26, issue 5
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-3607-2026
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-3607-2026
Research article
 | 
10 Mar 2026
Research article |  | 10 Mar 2026

Wind estimation based on flight dynamics of unmanned aerial vehicle: influencing variables and its environmental application

Dukun Chen, Weifeng Su, Shaojie Jiang, Honglong Yang, Chunsheng Zhang, Shutong Jiang, Dongyang Chang, Yuxin Liang, Hao Wang, Xin Yang, Tzung-May Fu, Zhenzhong Zeng, Lei Zhu, Huizhong Shen, Chen Wang, and Jianhuai Ye

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Cited articles

Achermann, F., Stastny, T., Danciu, B., Kolobov, A., Chung, J. J., Siegwart, R., and Lawrance, N.: WindSeer: real-time volumetric wind prediction over complex terrain aboard a small uncrewed aerial vehicle, Nat. Commun., 15, 3507, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-47778-4, 2024. 
Ahmed, Z., Halefom, M. H., and Woolsey, C.: Tutorial review of indirect wind estimation methods using small uncrewed air vehicles, J. Aerosp. Inf. Syst., 21, 667–683, https://doi.org/10.2514/1.I011345, 2024. 
Alfonso-Corcuera, D., Ogueta-Gutiérrez, M., Fernández-Soler, A., González-Bárcena, D., and Pindado, S.: Measuring relative wind speeds in stratospheric balloons with cup anemometers: the TASEC-lab mission, Sensors, 22, 5575, https://doi.org/10.3390/s22155575, 2022. 
Alizadeh, O., Abniki, M., Babaei, M., and Irannejad, P.: Climatology and the dynamic mechanism of the levar wind and dust events in eastern Iran, Int. J. Climatol., 42, 9288–9303, https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.7818, 2022. 
Asher, E., Hills, A. J., Hornbrook, R. S., Shertz, S., Gabbard, S., Stephens, B. B., Helmig, D., and Apel, E. C.: Unpiloted aircraft system instrument for the rapid collection of whole air samples and measurements for environmental monitoring and air quality studies, Environ. Sci. Technol., 55, 5657–5667, https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.0c07213, 2021. 
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This research presents a sensor-free method to transform UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) into precise wind measurement platforms by calibrating their flight dynamics against wind. The approach quantifies how wind tilts the aircraft, enabling accurate estimation of wind speed and direction without additional sensors. This provides a low-cost, high-resolution monitoring of complex wind patterns, with applications in pollution tracking, air quality modeling, and operational safety in the emerging low-altitude economy.
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