Working in collaboration with the University of Utah Center of Engineering towards the development and commercialization 0f the next generation of precipitation sensors, Particle Flux Analytics has produced the Multi-Angle Snowflake Camera (MASC); equipment designed to take 10 to 30 micron resolution photographs of hydrometeors from three angles while measuring the snowflake's fall speed. With the cameras automatically triggered by infrared motion sensors, photographs are gathered at a speed of up to 1/40,000th of a second. The precipitation measurement technology may take up to tens of thousands of snowflake images a day. The Multi-Angle Snowflake Camera (MASC) takes 10 to 30 micron resolution photographs of hydrometeors from three angles while simultaneously measuring their fallspeed. With the instrument being robust to cold and weather and operating unattended, calibration is limited to occasional camera alignment and lens focusing using a calibration tool that attaches to the instrument. Software is included for image and fallspeed acquisition and display on PC platforms and for creating a live internet feed from the installation site. Technical details are available in the specifications PDF. For more information or to request a quote, please reach out to us at info@particleflux.net. SNOWPIXEL The SnowPixel is the most advanced thermodynamic sensor array developed to date. It uses an advanced NanoFab technology developed through DOE Phase I and II SBIR/STTR funding to PFA as a 576-channel 24x24 array of 0.5 mm x 0.5 mm individually, thermostatically, controlled platinum micro-hotplates, each 120 nm thick, with a footprint of just 32 mm x 35 mm. The output is the first high-resolution, high-speed 2D ``video'' of environmental thermodynamic cooling signatures. The SnowPixel can be used in a wide range of applications including simulateneous measurements of hydrometeor mass and cumulative precipitation amount, with ongoing testing of its application as a concurrent wind and turbulence sensor. Further development is aimed at a miniaturized, low-power, fully capable weather station for deployment in high-density meteorological sensor networks aimed at improved societal resilience to weather extremes. For more information or to request a quote, please reach out to us at info@particleflux.net. DIFFERENTIAL EMISSIVITY IMAGING DISTROMETER The Differential Emissivity Imaging Distrometer measures the size, shape, mass, and density of individual hydrometeors, as well as cumulative snow and liquid precipitation rates, by exploiting difference in thermal emissivity of metal and water. Hydrometeors that land on a heated metal plate are seen by a thermal camera as seen as bright regions on a blackground. With heat transfer physics the mass and density can of individual hydrometeors can be obtained with unprecendented accuracy from the evaporation time. The DEID has been successfully validated against traditional, very coarse resolution, snow stakes and weighing gauges, and it is currently being used for precipitation measurement and avalanche prediction at a major Utah ski resort.
