How CouloumbFly’s rotor ring powers. Beihang University
A tiny solar-powered drone weighs less than a paper plane and has an extremely efficient electrostatic motor.
Researchers have solved efficiency and power issues to create what they believe is the world’s lightest and smallest sunlight-powered rotorcraft.
Micro aerial vehicles (MAVs) could be used for many applications, including environmental monitoring and search and rescue. However, these tiny flying machines face a significant challenge — limited flying time. MAVs weighing less than 10 grams usually only fly for about 10 minutes.
Other propulsion methods have been tested to extend flight time, but they still require large ground-based power systems, preventing free flight.
The drone’s power system. Qi, M et al/Nature
Solar power could be a solution, but until now, no solar-powered MAV has been able to fly untethered in natural sunlight.
Researchers have developed CoulombFly, a solar-powered MAV with an extremely efficient electrostatic motor and very light solar panels to address this.
via New Atlas
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