Low-Altitude Weather Sensor Network Launches in North Texas

The first-ever comprehensive, low-altitude weather data system in North Texas has been deployed by Reston, Virginia-based TruWeather Solutions in partnership with Hillwood, the city of Fort Worth, and the North Central Texas Council of Governments.

TruWeather, a global leader in Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) weather innovation, said the strategic initiative will support the safe and reliable growth of next-generation transportation technologies, ranging from drone delivery to autonomous trucking and electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft.

“By hosting our most advanced low-altitude wind sensors at critical locations across AllianceTexas, Hillwood is helping create a data-rich environment that allows us to understand wind patterns better and improve the safety and efficiency of drone and air taxi operations in urban environments,” TruWeather CEO Don Berchoff said in a statement. “The collaborative, public-private support we have received has been instrumental in turning the innovative concepts of our Virginia company into an operational reality.”

Hillwood called the network’s implementation a significant milestone in advanced mobility at AllianceTexas, the company’s 27,000-acre master-planned community in north Fort Worth. It’s another example of Hillwood’s leadership in innovative public-private partnerships, the company said.

NASA SBIR and USDOT Funding, tech details

The projects are being led by TruWeather Solutions via contracts and collaborative funding from a NASA Small Business Innovation Research Award and a U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) SMART Grant awarded to the City of Fort Worth. The NASA-funded Urban Weather Sensing Infrastructure Testbed will improve weather-sensing data to decrease risks to Advanced Air Mobility Systems, the city said.

The city, in collaboration with the North Central Texas Council of Governments, has received a $2 million SMART Grant from the USDOT to develop and pilot a micro-weather network that will enhance safety and efficiency for intermodal and autonomous transportation.

TruWeather Solutions said that at the center of the new weather infrastructure is the Wind Guardian, a state-of-the-art low-altitude wind sensing system using advanced Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) technology developed by TruWeather’s partner, Metro Weather. More than 20 advanced weather and wind sensors will be deployed across key locations throughout AllianceTexas, including the Fixed Base Operation (FBO) at Perot Field Fort Worth Alliance Airport, Alliance Gateway 57 at 1051 Republic Drive in Roanoke (currently occupied by Cummins Clean Fuel Technologies), and the AllianceTexas Flight Test Center.

TruWeather, which was founded in 2015, said the network includes road weather sensors, cloud-detection sensors and advancements in laser technology, sensor design and data processing.

Micro-weather data for ‘the future of logistics and mobility’

“AllianceTexas has long been a proving ground for transportation innovation,” Christopher Ash, president of Alliance Aviation Companies at Perot Field Fort Worth Alliance Airport, said in a statement. “By partnering with TruWeather, we’ll go beyond enabling advanced air mobility. We’re helping define the standards and best practices to guide its nationwide growth, which will aid in the safe, reliable deployment of drone technology and autonomous trucking.”

The partners said that researchers will begin reviewing sensor data this month to identify ways to optimize low-altitude operations and quantify how using micro-weather information in planning can improve the efficiency of transportation systems.

Additional phases of the project will continue through the rest of this year and into 2026.

“We see real-time micro-weather intelligence as essential infrastructure for the future of logistics and mobility,” Nicholas Konen, director of strategic development at Hillwood, said in a statement. “By working closely with TruWeather and public sector leaders, we’re laying the groundwork to support the scalable deployment of drones, autonomous vehicles and eVTOL aircraft across the region.”