Lasers could keep Drones flying forever

carstensdj

carstensdj

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Thought this was quite amazing!
http://www.space.com/16608-laser-military-drone-flying.html

A silent drone flown by U.S. Special Forces could stay in the air forever, in theory, if power were being beamed to it from a laser on the ground. That exciting possibility came up during an indoor flight test showing how a laser could power a Stalker drone for 48 hours.

The electric version of Lockheed Martin's Stalker has a battery that usually lasts just two hours, but in the test, a laser power system wirelessly recharged a drone battery in midair for 24 times as long. Such a system, if proven in actual outdoor flights, could give U.S. Special Forces a steady robot friend in the sky to watch for targets or approaching enemies.

"This test is one of the final steps in bringing laser-powered flight to the field," said Tom Nugent, president of LaserMotive, which made the laser power system used in the test. "By enabling in-flight recharging, this system will ultimately extend capabilities, improve endurance and enable new missions for electric aircraft."

LaserMotive previously made its mark by winning NASA's space elevator contest — a challenge to build machines powered by laser beams that can climb a cable toward the sky.

The drone flight test took place in a wind tunnel to simulate flying conditions. By the end of the test, the Stalker's battery actually held more stored energy than it did at the beginning.

"We're pleased with the results of this test," said Tom Koonce, the Stalker program manager of Lockheed Martin Skunk Works. "Laser power holds real promise in extending the capabilities of Stalker."

A next step for the Stalker involves testing the laser power technology during an outdoors flight.

Laser power may work very well for electric drones the size of the Stalker, which has a 10-foot (3 meters) wingspan, but bigger electric aircraft have turned to different solutions for their higher power requirements. A planned trans-Atlantic flight of an electric aircraft will use drones to deliver fresh batteries in midair.
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The potential civilian applications for that technology is awesome.
 
Although it's going to be somewhat problematic when the drones need to fly over a large expanse of water, say like the ocean... or will it?

deathtraps-austinpowers-590x350.jpg
 
Great, first it was sharks, now we have drones with FRIKKEN' laser beams aimed at their power sources.
 
The laser would still need to work on line of sight and that, together with rotation of the earth, would dictate that the power is beamed down from a satellite.
 
Surely this isn't a very efficient way of powering the devices though? Even though it is a lazer, I'd imagine that a large amount of power is being lost in the air during transfer?

It's a cool idea though.

Imagine electric cars that are powered by laser terminals/towers placed on the tops of buildings or sides of the roads. You never have to charge your car yourself as it is permanently being fed power as you drive, and a computer system records how much power your car used so you just get a bill at the end of the month.

Although if they were shooting this stuff into the air you'd probably find everyone would get cancer in a week :P
 
Greylor said:
Although if they were shooting this stuff into the air you'd probably find everyone would get cancer in a week :P
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You mean at the ground? How would people get cancer from a lightbeam being shot into the sky?
 
Not great for military aircraft. I'm sure that if those lasers are not visible to the naked eye, there are equipment that can "see" those lasers in which case detection is a simple matter ... just follow the beam.
 
Picard said:
Not great for military aircraft. I'm sure that if those lasers are not visible to the naked eye, there are equipment that can "see" those lasers in which case detection is a simple matter ... just follow the beam.
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Very true! I'm sure there is a technology that can see laser beams... There MUST be...
 
Picard said:
Not great for military aircraft. I'm sure that if those lasers are not visible to the naked eye, there are equipment that can "see" those lasers in which case detection is a simple matter ... just follow the beam.
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Actually. Laser beams are extremely hard to spot.
 
Yeah they wouldn't be easy to spot because the light stays closely bunched together and loses so little energy on the way to the target.
 
Fudzy said:
You mean at the ground? How would people get cancer from a lightbeam being shot into the sky?
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If it was being used on a large scale in cities (like with the cars thing I said) it would be prevalent on ground level.
 
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