The U.S. Army Wants to Transmit Power to Drones with Lasers
September 8th, 2018Via: Defense Systems:
Even as drone technology advances, power constraints limit the amount of equipment unmanned systems can carry as well as the time they can stay in the air.
Some drone systems, like the Persistent Aerial Reconnaissance and Communications drone from CyPhy Works, deliver power through a tether to keep a small drone aloft for an entire week. The Army, however, is developing a system to supply power through a laser, according to reporting from the New Scientist.
The drone would be outfitted with a photovoltaic cell that could take the light beam from the laser and turn it into electricity. The Army has still to determine how to get the benefits of photovoltaics without the extreme heat damaging the drone, according to Futurism.
