LSUS students develop AI-powered weather app for Air Force

“Collaborating with LSUS students on ‘Project Airstorm’ through STRIKEWERX and the LSUS Collaboratory has been exceptional,” said Tubbs, 377th Test Support Squadron flight chief of mission weather operations, who serves as the Air Force’s primary point of contact for the project. “The students, including those in the National Security Fellowship Program, brought technical expertise in computer science, mathematics, and AI along with enthusiasm for addressing real-world Air Force challenges.

“Their work – from coding and integrating GraphCast to designing a user-friendly interface – has delivered a practical tool for Kirtland’s immediate needs. The LSUS team’s creativity and adaptability shone in design sprints and collaborative efforts, making them invaluable partners.”

While GraphCast is the app’s foundation, the students switched to other services for different app areas because of budget and time constraints.

“We needed a different AI model to do the map imaging, and we found Media Source map data to generate our map tiles,” said Antonio Mata, a senior from Shreveport. “We needed more time and money to use GraphCast for this, but we were able to integrate Media Source into the app. We definitely had to learn how to communicate with each other, with our points of contact, and solve problems.”

One tweak to the app included map files that made lightning strike points available to view.

“That’s useful to the Air Force because they can see if it’s safe for a plane to go into this area or tell them to avoid this area,” Mata explained.

LSUS computer science faculty member Keyvan Shahrdar added that experimental learning is integral to the curriculum.