CoulombFly's innovative solar-powered ultra-light drone is capable of autonomously hovering in the air thanks to its unique electrostatic motor design and efficient solar cells.
Solar Mini Drone
Revolutionary Development
Group of Scientists introduced the innovative CoulombFly drone, capable of maintaining autonomous flight in the presence of sunlight. The uniqueness of the device lies in its design, which combines photocells, a voltage converter and an electrostatic motor that drives the propeller, like a helicopter. All elements are selected for the optimal balance of performance, weight and solar energy efficiency.
Limitations and Features
At this stage, CoulombFly is an experimental sample with a number of limitations. The absence of an on-board control system allows it to only move passively through air currents. Drone components are fragile and thin. CoulombFly can be considered one of the lightest drones in the world - its weight is only 4.21 grams. Details of the study were published in the journal Nature.
Innovation Engine
Unlike most drones that use electromagnetic motors with heavy metal coils, CoulombFly's creators focused on developing a lightweight electrostatic motor. Its operating principle is based on the attraction and repulsion of electrical charges. The design includes an inner ring of stationary charged plates (stator) made of thin carbon fiber coated with aluminum. During operation, adjacent plates have opposite charges. There is a ring of 64 movable plates around the stator.
Operating principle
The motor is activated when the outer ring plates are charged. Since one of the closest stator plates is guaranteed to have the opposite charge, rotation begins. When the stator and rotor plates are brought as close as possible, thin conductors provide contact, allowing charges to be redistributed. This ensures that the stator and rotor plates receive the same charge, turning attraction into repulsion. Such a system requires minimal current, but needs high voltage between the plates.
Specifications
The 10 cm diameter propeller with 8 blades produces 5.8 g of lift, which determines the design parameters for the remaining components. The solar cells are made of thin film gallium arsenide, which provides a high energy conversion efficiency of 30%, which is superior to other photovoltaic materials. Batteries generate relatively high current at low voltage, requiring the use of a transformer.
Energy Efficiency and Design
The designers sacrificed efficiency for weight reduction. The created series of voltage converters weighing only 1.13 g increases the voltage from 4.5 V to 9.0 kV, but the conversion efficiency is only 24%. The resulting CoulombFly design is a cylindrical engine with a propeller on top and a solar cell platform on the bottom, balanced by a power converter.
Tests and results
The drone was tested on a sunny day by launching it from a window. The drone took off and hovered for more than an hour, demonstrating its ability to continue flying in sufficient sunlight. To maintain flight, 0.568 W of power was required. Taking into account the total mass of 4.21 g, this gives an efficiency of 7.6 g/W. However, a significant portion of the energy is lost during voltage conversion. The motor requires only 0.14 W, giving it an efficiency of over 30 g/W. The available stock allows you to add additional components, such as a control system.
Miniature version
A miniature version of the design was also created with a height of only 8 mm and a mass of 9 mg, capable of generating 1 mW of power and rotate the screw at a speed of more than 15,000 revolutions per minute.
Glossary
- CoulombFly is an innovative ultra-light drone capable of autonomously hovering in the air, powered by solar energy.
- Nature is a prestigious scientific journal that published the CoulombFly study.
- Gallium arsenide is a semiconductor material used to create highly efficient solar cells.
- Electrostatic motor is a type of motor that works on the principle of attraction and repulsion of electrical charges.
- The stator is the stationary part of an electric motor, consisting of charged plates.
Links
Answers to questions
What is CoulombFly and what makes it unique?
How does the CoulombFly electrostatic motor work?
What energy sources does the drone use?
What is the performance of CoulombFly?
What are the development prospects for CoulombFly technology?
Hashtags
Save a link to this article
Discussion of the topic – Revolutionary Drone CoulombFly: Infinite Solar Flight
Researchers have developed an innovative ultra-light drone, CoulombFly, that can operate autonomously using solar energy. The drone's unique design combines solar panels, a voltage converter and an electrostatic motor, allowing it to hover in the air indefinitely in the presence of sunlight.
There are no reviews for this product.
Write a comment
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are checked *