[HN Gopher] Researchers build a solar-powered hovering drone tha...
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Researchers build a solar-powered hovering drone that weighs only 9
mg
Author : thunderbong
Score : 49 points
Date : 2024-07-17 18:52 UTC (4 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (arstechnica.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (arstechnica.com)
| bunabhucan wrote:
| Paper link, includes videos of the prototypes:
|
| https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07609-4
| UncleOxidant wrote:
| https://archive.is/Yi8Fn
|
| ...but that's still paywalled.
| popcalc wrote:
| Still paywalled.
|
| Here's the unlisted demo video:
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBoee1l4OXo
| abeppu wrote:
| I'm aware of several past solar-powered airplanes. Is this the
| first solar powered rotary-wing aircraft? (Looking for 'solar
| drone' mostly turns up drones used to clean solar panels)
| m-watson wrote:
| I would guess the key here is the "researchers reported that
| they had developed a drone they're calling the CoulombFly,
| which is capable of self-powered hovering for as long as the
| Sun is shining."
|
| It only seems to operate off the solar power, no additional
| power. So the light keeps shining, the drone keeps flying.
| abeppu wrote:
| Right, I'm can see that. I'm asking, is this the _first_
| example in the solar rotary-wing (miniature) aircraft
| category, or are there any other prior examples?
| nathancahill wrote:
| Also.. ground effect?
| f154hfds wrote:
| For those curious about solar powered fixed wing airplanes:
|
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airbus_Zephyr
|
| > One Zephyr can replace 250 cell phone towers. It can be used
| to perform intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR)
| with a wide visual payload coverage of 20x30 km (12.4x18.6 mi)
| and can be equipped with radar, LIDAR and infrared
| technologies.
| tomasf wrote:
| Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBoee1l4OXo
| GenerocUsername wrote:
| Article says 4g title says 9mg
| Jtsummers wrote:
| > However, the design can be miniaturized, and the researchers
| built a version that weighs only 9 milligrams.
|
| Ars A/B tests their titles so I don't know if the submitter
| editorialized or if they saw a different title than the rest of
| us, but the text of the article does include building a 9 mg
| version.
| GenerocUsername wrote:
| Interesting. Thanks for clarification
| commodoreboxer wrote:
| The second and penultimate paragraphs both explain that.
| ugh123 wrote:
| Only? Can it carry any extra onboard chips and sensors?
| throwup238 wrote:
| Every time I see one of these drone tech demonstrations, I can't
| help but wonder how they will be adapted for warfare.
|
| This one... I'm seeing flying solar powered landmines (skymines?)
| that can flutter around an active combat zone aimlessly for hours
| until it detects a personnel target and bops them near the temple
| with a small round. I wonder if there are any actual benefits
| over just putting a solar panel on a regular quadcopter and
| having them charge a battery, maybe staying stationary in field
| or ditch near the road, relocating once in a while and waiting
| for a target.
|
| Slaughterbots, assemble!
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CO6M2HsoIA
| 7734128 wrote:
| https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loitering_munition
| jessriedel wrote:
| > and bops them near the temple with a small round.
|
| The smallest commercially available centerfire cartridge was
| the 2.7mm Kolibri round, which was too underpowered to inflict
| significant damage to a person other than maybe if you hit them
| right in the eyeball. That round weighed 5.3 grams while the OP
| article talks about a drone weighing 9 _milli_ grams.
|
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2mm_Kolibri
|
| This drone just doesn't have enough payload for
| explosives/bullets to be useful against a person. More
| plausible is some sort of biological attack, like a nerve gas,
| although you'd be pushing the limits even there. The LD50 for
| sarin gas is 1 milligram, and you would need a delivery
| mechanism.
| jxcole wrote:
| If you look carefully you see that they actually started with
| a much bigger drone and then shrunk it down. The minimum is 9
| mg (that they could build) but it sounds like the design can
| be expanded to almost any size. A more obvious question would
| be is there any functional difference between this and a
| balloon.
| gertlex wrote:
| Thanks for the insights on that half of the hypothetical! 9mg
| is indeed wild, and made me go check the article... The
| article is a bit confusing, or I'm missing some nuances. It
| seems to talk about 2-3 drones, I think, mentioning weights
| of: 9 mg, 1.13 g, and 4 g. I think the one in the video is
| not the 9 mg version.
| throwup238 wrote:
| From TFA:
|
| _> The total system required just over half a watt of power
| to stay aloft. Given a total mass of 4 grams, that works out
| to a lift-to-power efficiency of 7.6 grams per watt. But a
| lot of that power is lost during the voltage conversion. If
| you focus on the motor alone, it only requires 0.14 watts,
| giving it a lift-to-power efficiency of over 30 grams per
| watt...._
|
| _> But one thing they don 't have to optimize is the
| vehicle's size since they already built a miniaturized
| version that's only 8 millimeters high and weighs just 9
| milligrams but is able to generate a milliwatt of power that
| turns its propeller at over 15,000 rpm._
|
| 9mg is just the smallest version they managed to make. Based
| on the size of the solar panel in the video, there's plenty
| of room to scale to tens of grams per drone. And this is a
| laboratory proof of concept, not a well funded weapons
| prototype.
| RIMR wrote:
| >9mg
|
| Yeah, just make stuff up...
| lawlessone wrote:
| Not remotely controlled or autonomous. It's cool but it isn't a
| drone.
| bitwize wrote:
| Localizers (from A Deepness in the Sky)!
| jafarlihi wrote:
| Ever heard of wind?
| squarefoot wrote:
| I wonder how feasible would be adding an actuator that slightly
| tilts the propeller axis, driven according to the direction from
| which the drone is receiving sunlight, so that the drone would
| turn always to the sun, remaining airborne as long as it can
| follow its light.
| denotational wrote:
| I think you might be describing a (photosynthetic) moth!
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(page generated 2024-07-17 23:06 UTC)