How to solve the problem of "UAV" battery life?

The drone market will continue to erupt in the next decade. According to the 2015 market research report of the American Aerospace Consulting Group Tiel Group, the global UAV output value will be from the existing 4 billion US dollars (about 25.45 billion yuan) ) rose to 14 billion US dollars (about 89.09 billion yuan), totaling 93 billion US dollars (about 591.81 billion yuan). The research report of the research company EVTank pointed out that China's UAV sales in 2014 were about 20,000, of which military drones accounted for 1.4%, and civilian drones accounted for 98.6%. It is estimated that by 2020, the annual sales of Chinese drones will be It reached 290,000. It can be seen that the development momentum of civilian drones is very strong.

Nowadays, there are a wide variety of drones on the market, and the range of applications is wider and wider, but the battery life is rarely improved. EVTank's research report pointed out that the current life cycle of consumer-grade drones is generally within one hour, mainly using lithium polymer batteries as the main driving force. The drone capability in the market is generally between 20 minutes and 30 minutes, and the charging time is more than one hour, which limits the flight time and flight distance of the drone. To promote the long-term benign development of the drone market, it is crucial to solve the problem of endurance. Fortunately, new technologies at home and abroad have recently found new solutions to solve the problem of battery life.

Zhong Zhi University student Jiang Zhiyuan develops autonomous battery life drone

The self-sustaining drone invented by Jiang Zhiyuan, a student of Central South University, received extensive attention in 2015 and received a capital injection of 120 million yuan. The autonomous endurance drone does not use a lithium polymer battery, but uses solar energy to continue its life. The aircraft developed by Jiang Zhiyuan can monitor its own power in real time. When the power is reduced to a certain level, the “Look for Charging Pile” mode will be activated to obtain the charging pile position, and then wirelessly charged on the solar panel of the charging pile. Jiang Zhiyuan and his team believe that UAVs are used in aerial photography in China, and they want UAVs to be used in express delivery, circuit inspection, surveying and border patrol. Through this solar charging pile model, the drone can not only perform the task of border patrol, but also the cost is lower.

Boston CyPhyWorks invents a drone that never landed

CyphyWorks, a Boston drone manufacturer, has released a new Parc drone that can perform air cruise missions. The Parc drone is connected by a “microwire” that can transmit data as well as receive power from an external generator, vehicle or other device, meaning that the Parc drone can be operated in the air without landing. However, this structure of "microwire" connected to the power supply also has obvious drawbacks, that is, the flight range of the drone is limited.

The method to solve the problem of the life of the drone is not limited to making a fuss on the lithium polymer battery. How to properly use the continuous energy to provide the flight power for the drone is a new development idea.

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