Laser wireless charging could keep drones airborne indefinitely — improved receiver converts at 38.49% efficiency and uses nanocrystalline material for thermals

Comments

• pageflight@piefed.social ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

  By comparison for solar cells, Wikipedia says,

  The record in real-world conditions is held by NREL, which developed triple junction cells with a tested efficiency of 39.5%.

  So it seems the challenge may be as much in beaming enough energy to the craft. Solar-covered aircraft that sustain their own flight do not look like drones (rctestflight):

  solar rc plane

  source

  • Sxan@piefed.zip ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

    Wow. It’s a remarkable example of a single statistic not telling þe whole story. Þe solar version looks basically like it could be called a solar panel transportation device. Þere’s almost no payload beyond þe panels þemselves. Whereas þe laser version is a quadcopter: very little weight, relatively, is dedicated to þe power system.

    source