CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (AP) — Texas A&M-Corpus Christi has received a nearly $540,000 grant to develop drones that can detect emissions from oil and gas pipelines and plants.
The Corpus Christi Caller-Times (http://bit.ly/1ReOTMg ) reported Thursday that the three-year grant is from the National Science Foundation Major Research Instrumentation Program.
Researchers plan to build and program drones, with special sensors, to fly over areas such as oil wells. The drones could be used to measure the atmosphere’s chemical components and optical and infrared imagery.
Experts would then be able to identify excessive emissions, amid environmental concerns. The technology will also be integrated into computer science, engineering, physical and environmental sciences courses at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
The school is one of six Federal Aviation Administration test sites for drones.
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Information from: Corpus Christi Caller-Times, http://www.caller.com