While the military has been utilizing robotic planes for a while now, academic types have now decided to get into the act by using them for scientific purposes. The NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) has decided to invest $3 million to use UAS (Unmanned Aircraft Systems) for what one researcher calls “the missions we call dirty, dull and dangerous.” These include predicting intensity of hurricanes, tracking Arctic ice melting, and flooding of the west coast of the U.S. They also feel an advantage is that they can use the robo-planes for continuous sampling without needing the dreaded coffee break by whining employees.