Mobile UAS Research Collaboratory (MURC)

The Mobile UAS Research Collaboratory (MURC) is a customized Sprinter van equipped with mobile workstations, 50 foot mast with meteorological sensors, and onboard server for field computing and real-time calculations​. The MURC can be used to as command station for overseeing UAS operations, transport equipment and provide additional meteorological measurements for siting, sensor comparisons and monitoring local atmospheric conditions.

MURC Specifications: 

• Electronically steerable antenna for communications to multiple aircraft
• Ruggedized server racks for data storage and high-performance computing to run simulations and process data in the field
• Operation stations for 2-6 aircraft simultaneously
• A complete weather station for UAS PTH and wind sensor calibrations in the field. 

        MURC deployed in the Colorado San Luis Valley supporting the LAPSE-RATE flight campaign.

Publications regarding the use of the MURC to evaluate UAS:

• Barbieri, L.K., S.T. Kral, S.C.C. Bailey, A.E. Frazier, J.D. Jacob,D. Brus, P.B. Chilson, C. Crick, J. Elston, H. Foroutan, J. González-Rocha, B.R. Greene, M.I. Guzman, A.L. Houston, A. Islam,O. Kemppinen, E.A. Pillar-Little, J. Reuder, S.D. Ross, M. Sama, D.G. Schmale III, T.J. Schuyler, S. Smith, S. Waugh, A. Doddi, D. Lawrence, C. Dixon, S. Borenstein, and G. de Boer (2019): Intercomparison of small unmanned aircraft system (sUAS) measurements for atmospheric science during the LAPSE-RATE campaign, Sensors, 19, 2179, https://doi.org/10.3390/s19092179  
   
• de Boer, G., B. Butterworth, J. Elston, A. Houston, E. Pillar-Little, B. Argrow, T. Bell, P. Chilson, C. Choate, B. Greene, A. Islam, R. Martz, M. Rhodes, D. Rico, M. Stachura, F. Lappin, S. Whyte, and M. Wilson: Evaluation and Intercomparison of Small Uncrewed Aircraft Systems Used for Atmospheric Research, Atmos. Ocean. Tech., 41, 127–145, https://doi.org/10.1175/JTECH-D-23-0067.1