NASA's Unmanned Autonomy Research Complex (NUARC) houses a WindShaper fan array consisting of 1134 programmable fans arranged as 567 'wind pixels' over a 9-by-7-foot area. The system can generate wind speeds up to 16 m/s and replicates steady winds, gusts, and gradients via Python scripting, supporting dynamic low-speed and hovering flight experiments.
Additionally, a handheld WindProbe equipped with a 5-hole cone sensor and integrated with a motion capture system offers rapid mobile airflow data collection. These facilities provide researchers with flexible, programmable wind environments for testing autonomous aerial vehicles under realistic conditions.
Source & further reading
Indoor Testing Facilities available at the NASA Unmanned Autonomy Research Complex (NUARC) ↗Source published 2026-04-09. This report was prepared with AI assistance from the linked primary-source material. Claims and limitations should be checked against the original announcement or research.