Small UAVs May Recharge on Power Lines

the_syco

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This article first appeared in Aviation Week's DTI. Small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) are effective battlefield surveillance platforms. But they suffer from limited battery power, which affects their range and their sensors' effectiveness, often making them expendable.

A solution may lie in overhead power lines. A program by Defense Research Associates (DRA) and the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) seeks to develop a small UAV that can land on a power line and recharge its battery by drawing energy from the cable.

Cool idea, and would love to see them in action!

Karoma

One issue about recharging is detection. Can a small UAV be disguised? Rick Lind, an associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at the University of Florida, thinks so.
... One goal of the PLUS program is to create a small UAV that seems to disappear by morphing into a shape that doesn't look out of place on a power line.
...

"He made a small UAV look like a Coke can," Marshall recalls.

Nobody ever suspects a Coke can on a power line...

the_syco

Karoma wrote: »

Nobody ever suspects a Coke can on a power line...

Aye, was thinking that... but I'd love to see it transform into a pair of runners.