Sustainable Atmospheric Sensing

Pioneering sustainable weather data collection with Meteodrones, Meteomatics has now acquired R2Home and its innovative glidersonde technology, which enables the recovery and reuse of radiosondes.

Meteomatics Acquires R2Home and Welcomes Yohan Hadji

We are excited to announce our recent acquisition of R2Home, a startup founded by Yohan Hadji in 2019. He has developed an innovative glidersonde offering a cost-effective and sustainable alternative to conventional radiosondes.

Now branded by Meteomatics as "Meteoglider," it’s a perfect addition to our sustainable solutions for atmospheric sensing, joining the ranks of our Meteodrone and Meteobase technologies.

Along with the acquisition, we are thrilled to welcome Yohan to the Meteomatics team leading the development and manufacturing of Meteogliders.

Conventional Radiosondes Get Lost in Nature

For decades, radiosondes carried by weather balloons have been indispensable for collecting atmospheric data. However, a significant environmental and operational drawback is that the balloons drift with the wind, and the radiosondes are often lost in nature. Out of approximately 600,000 radiosondes launched worldwide annually, an estimated 80% are never recovered, making them costly single-use devices with a notable environmental impact.

Meteogliders Come Back to the Launch Site for Reuse

Many have tried to get radiosondes to return to their launch sites for reuse, but it has been a major technical challenge. Yohan is the first to successfully make it work at scale.

The Meteoglider is a lightweight, 250-gram foam glider equipped with a radiosonde and a sophisticated guidance system. Carried by a weather balloon to altitudes of 30 kilometers, it collects the same high-quality atmospheric data as a conventional radiosonde.

Its guidance system calculates the optimal trajectory, allowing it to return to the launch site or a designated GPS location. This technology allows the Meteoglider to be reused many times, ensuring its lithium battery and electronic components reach their full potential of hundreds of operational hours before being properly disposed of.

Despite its additional features, the Meteoglider remains small and light enough to be classified by aviation authorities as a conventional radiosonde. We plan to make future versions even smaller and lighter, further reducing environmental impact.

Meteodrones and Meteogliders provide innovative and sustainable solutions for collecting atmospheric data, meeting the growing demand for improved weather forecasts.

Meteodrones, designed for long-term use, can be deployed globally by national weather services and private organizations. Capable of multiple daily flights anywhere in the world, they offer the high volume and frequency of data needed to improve weather predictions and address gaps in existing networks.

Meteogliders, on the other hand, provide a short-term, sustainable alternative for national weather services. They allow the continued use of radiosondes while reducing environmental and cost impacts with minimal changes to existing processes.

Together, these technologies complement each other by expanding the scope and accuracy of atmospheric data collection. While Meteogliders ensure critical stratospheric measurements are maintained sustainably, Meteodrones focus on increasing data density in the atmospheric boundary layer, addressing urgent forecasting needs. This combination supports both immediate goals and the long-term transformation of weather observation systems.