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At the end of last year, researchers at the US Department of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, DARPA, used propane-fueled compact solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) to increase the standard 2-hour endurance of Lockheed Martin’s stalker drones to 4 times.
Now, a wireless laser charging system can wirelessly transfer energy from the ground to a drone in flight, increasing the flying time of stalkers by 24 times. Realizing this kind of continuous over-the-air charging will greatly ease the drone's flight time limit.
In the most recent indoor flight test, the stalker's continuous testing time exceeded 48 hours. It is equipped with a power supply connectivity system developed by the Kent Corporation, which is headquartered in Washington, DC. The system emits a laser beam from the ground station and passes through the atmosphere to the receiver of the photovoltaic cell on the drone. As long as the UAV is kept within a certain distance from the ground station, the system can continuously deliver energy to it. The system can also charge the back-up battery on board the drone, allowing the drone to fly beyond its storage limit.
In fact, in the indoor flight tests conducted in the wind tunnel, the stalker's battery stored even more energy than when it began to fly. However, despite the system's potential to provide time-bound flights, the conclusion of the flight test only stated that "the team's set time-of-flight goals were achieved."
Tom Neugent, president of LaserMotive Inc., who participated in the trial, said: "This test is the final step before laser powered flight is allowed to enter the outdoor test. Now that the in-flight charging has been achieved, the system will eventually expand its capabilities and increase endurance, so that electric aircraft can Perform a new mission. The next step will be to prove the feasibility of the technology in an outdoor flight."
As it is possible to use both the grid and generators to supply power to land-based lasers, the system can be deployed at bases and has the potential to be used as a trailer to carry out work in the field.
LaserMotive said that when using this system to transfer energy between two points, energy loss is considerable due to the relationship between oscillation and dust. In contrast, the vertical upward energy loss of the beam is small, because it will soon get rid of the ground effect. The company is even developing a specific system that directs energy beams from the surface of the Earth to satellites and even the moon.
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