ABSTRACT A Sensor Flock composed of bird-sized micro aerial vehicles (MAVs) enables low cost high granularity atmospheric sensing of toxic plume behavior and storm dynamics, and provides a unique three-dimensional vantage for monitoring wild life and ecological systems. This paper describes a complete implementation of our Sensor Flock, spanning the development of our MAV airplane, its avionics, semi autonomous flight control software, launch system, flock control algorithm, and wireless communication networking between MAVs. We present experimental results from flight tests of flocks of MAVs, and a characterization of wireless RF behavior in air-to-air communication as well as air-to- ground communication. Keywords Wireless Sensor Networks, MAVs, Applications, Deployments 1. INTRODUCTION Large wireless networks scaling to hundreds of low cost airborne vehicles are largely still a vision today rather than a reality. In Sensor Flock, our research goal is to make a substantial leap forwards towards this vision of hundreds of inexpensive, semi-autonomous, and cooperating airborne vehicles that sense and relay data over a wireless communication mesh network. We present in this paper our progress towards this goal, namely the design of our micro-air vehicle (MAV), the semi-autonomous flight control algorithm capable of hovering individual MAVs inloiter circles, flight validation tests of the MAVs, and an in-depth study of the RF characteristics of air-to-air and air-to-ground communication between MAVs. The benefits that will accrue to the research community from the Sensor Flock project include the ability to enhance scientific applications with fine- granularity three-dimensional sampling, the distribution of the MAV aircraft design and software to the wider community, the eventual creation of air bornetestbeds that scaleup….

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