BACKGROUND
Demands on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are continually and rapidly evolving, obviating simple modifications to existing platforms, particularly for increasing endurance of systems. The chief constraint on endurance of UAVs is onboard power capacity; the weight and space requirements of energy storage present an anathema to UAV flight range. Previous attempts have been made to harvest energy through perching or other stationary operations on an energy source; this is driven in part because mutual inductance charging is incredibly sensitive to transmission distance. Ideas on using a flight-based power transmission approach remain unapproached due to the precision flight near powerlines needed, which is exceedingly challenging for efficient airframes, as fixed wing vehicles have a natural phugoid mode. There is a critical need for UAVs with extensive endurance while still being able to perform GPS-denied navigation of the mission space.
SUMMARY OF TECHNOLOGY
Researchers at OSU have developed a novel UAV design that delivers power opportunities for long-range endurance UAVs, the PowerLine Unmanned Surfer (PLUS). This fixed-wing UAV is capable of mutual inductance charging while flying, by employing an innovative approach: PLUS perceives powerlines using optical time of flight sensors, and dynamically morphs its shape directing its flight pattern to closely fly along powerlines through a novel spatial frequency matching controller. Powerline surfing, non-contact charging enables PLUS to greatly extend its endurance to previous unattainable ranges while simultaneously enabling long-range GPS-denied navigation, as powerline charging in this fashion utilizes dead reckoning and feature detection, providing critical spatial information for a variety of defense and industry applications.
POTENTIAL AREAS OF APPLICATION
MAIN ADVANTAGES
STAGE OF DEVELOPMENT