How OTUS Drones Fly Inside Tornadoes and Gather Data

Imagine being an elite storm chaser trailing the edge of a supercell, spotting a tornado forming, then flying a drone directly into the heart of the funnel. That’s the idea behind The OTUS Project (Observations of Tornadoes by UAV Systems), an initiative that aims to produce customized UAVs designed to fly directly into tornados to garner atmospheric data.

According to the NOAA’s National Severe Storms Laboratory, much information about tornadoes is still unknown. Against widespread belief, they remain rare, are difficult to predict, and can cause billions of dollars in damage. The OTUS Project looks to help shed some light on the phenomena by combining storm science, innovative technology, and documentary film-making.

Established by Louis Tucker, Nelson Tucker, Tanner Beard, and Erik Fox, the Project provides advanced knowledge in drone racing and engineering, meteorology, storm chasing, aerospace systems, and severe weather research. According to The OTUS Project website, the mission of the team is to “protect lives and property by enhancing structural resilience, through wind & thermodynamic data collection that improves predictive models & hazard forecasting.”

Meet the Team

Nelson Tucker, a meteorology student at Millersville University and researcher with Tornado Talk, serves as the project’s founder and president and has had a long-standing interest in tornado science and severe weather. Louis Tucker serves as CEO and lead pilot. According to OTUS, he became the 2023 National Collegiate Drone Racing Champion and helped lead his school to a first-place finish in 2024. The project credits him with helping demonstrate that drone-based tornado research was possible when combined with the right engineering.

Tanner Beard, an aerospace engineer and spacecraft systems engineer, designed the project’s custom drone architecture, while Erik Fox, a retired Army veteran, meteorologist, storm chaser, and president of the National Storm Chaser Summit, serves as a safety lead and field operations expert.

Drone Hardware

Each drone used in the OTUS Project (Fig. 1) is custom-engineered to survive the harsh, dynamic environment inside tornadoes. The 3D-printed, hand-built UAVs are equipped with what the team calls thermodynamic sensors, flight telemetry systems, and custom weather instrumentation that measures temperature, humidity, pressure, and wind speeds from the areas surrounding the funnels before heading inside.