The problem with drones is that they can be perfect “flying toys”, but you can’t cheat physics: the battery weighs and is almost always too low. You can have a great camera, great stabilization and a brilliant autopilot, but at some point you have to charge the battery. PowerLight Technologies claims to have the answer.
Charging in flight… with a laser, at a distance of almost 2 kilometers. You probably think that Szczęsny has been completely detached from reality, but in my defense, this type of system has already been tested. So we’re not talking about a concept, but about technology that someone actually used.
PowerLight Technologies presented a laser-based wireless energy transfer system, the aim of which is to keep the unmanned aerial vehicle in the air much longer than any battery would allow. The company talks about “kilowatt class” power transmission over distances approaching 2 km. It sounds really good: 2 kilometers is in many cases more than we usually need. Let us remember, however, that we still stick to physics and it is physics that “hands out” all the limitations to us. However, we deal with one of the most important issues: battery capacity.
The system was created as part of the program Power Transmitted Over Laser to UASsupported in part by United States Central Command. There is no chance in this at all: when we are talking about such advanced technologies and drones, the military must be interested in the project. There are no two ways about it.
Wireless power line in the air
At the center of the project is a ground-based, autonomous transmitter that can track the aircraft and direct the laser beam directly to the receiver located in the drone. However, it is something closer to the concept of a dynamic energy network. The transmitter should not only shine, but also communicate with the drone, know its motion vector and deliver energy where it makes sense at a given moment. The use of a laser itself is not a product in itself. What is more important is how coordinated and controlled it is.
This is important because the drone moves, is subject to vibrations, changes altitude often, and along the way there is atmosphere, turbulence and geometry that is not necessarily friendly to us. In this class of solutions, the biggest enemy is not even the lack of power, but the lack of precision – minimal beam deviation means a decrease in effectiveness, and sometimes simply a lack of transfer: both data and power.
PowerLight says the tests confirm precise optical trackingdelivering energy over long distances and to heights 5000 feeti.e. approx 1520 meters. In addition, there is a “layered security system” prepared for use in spaces where only drones fly. And here we come to the important thing: this system is supposed to be safe for everything else that flies in the sky. Whether it’s a plane or a bird.
Receiver on the drone
No less important is the receiver mounted on the drone. PowerLight states that it weighs approx 2.7kg. The receiver is intended to capture energy from the laser, invisible to the human eye, and convert it into electrical current that recharges the batteries during flight. It’s not about replacing the battery 100% – it’s about ensuring that the battery at some point stops being just a waste of energy.
There is also a control module that collects telemetry and operates a two-way optical data link between the drone and the ground station. As we mentioned, the laser is supposed to transmit all kinds of important data in both directions.
Who needs charging in flight?
This will benefit, for example, observation and monitoring: when the drone is to hover over the area and look, instead of returning to the ground every 30-60 minutes, replacing the battery and losing continuity of the mission. In civilian applications, we fight for energy, agriculture, rescue, infrastructure inspections and protection of large events. In the military – for constant observation and reconnaissance. One without gaps and without the need to use a whole barrage of drones.
Instead of buying larger batteries that increase weight and reduce performance, or a whole bunch of drones: you have one equipment and one laser link that, in ideal conditions, gives you the virtually constant ability to keep the UAV in the air.
Read also: The first hydrogen drone. He’s just heading to the battlefield
Tests with K1000ULE and further plans
PowerLight is working with Kraus Hamdani Aerospace to integrate the system with the drone K1000ULE, which is ready for really long flights. The company announces fully integrated testing early this year, with demonstrations to confirm full power retention in flight. We know it works, but we don’t yet have full data on whether it works as long as the developers expect. All these operations will also tell us more about how the equipment will perform when someone blocks the beam, what the energy balance of this type of energy delivery is, and what problems will arise during testing.
However, we can already say that this is an extremely interesting opportunity: both for the military and civilian sectors.
