5/31/2019 – Rice University visitor, Houston County Judge, Lena Hidalgo observing the gas-sensing drones project led by Professor Edward Knightly. From (R to L) Dr. Will Reed, Technology For All; Professor Edward Knightly, Rice University; RNG grad student, Zhambyl Shaikhanov; RNG research intern, Amay Bhatnagar; Judge Lena Hidalgo; Rice Provost Reginald DesRoches; RNG research intern, Savva Morozov; and lead Post Doc, Dr. Ahmed Boubrima.

 

The Rice University research project is funded by the National Science Foundation. A swarm of drones will work together to sense toxic gases in the atmosphere and map out a safe perimeter. Rice University researchers, led by Professor Edward Knightly will test their gas-sensing drones in the Technology for All testbed, that’s nearby the Houston Ship Channel, with its numerous chemical refineries and industrial processing plants. As the project proceeds, the fleet of drones will expand. The team has also developed a mobile app to use the drone sensor findings to send real-time air quality warnings to residents’ phones.