Chinese Researchers Create Four-Gram Drone (theregister.com) 30
Simon Sharwood reports via The Register: Chinese researchers have created a drone that weighs just over four grams -- less than a sheet of printer paper -- and may be able to fly indefinitely. Documented in a paper published last week in Nature, the drone uses an electrostatic motor that weighs just 1.52 grams and is powered by solar cells that produce 4.5V. The paper asserts that the drone's design has a lift-to-power efficiency two to three times better than that found in traditional drones. The authors suggested that if rechargeable batteries can be added, the craft could be capable of 24-hour flying operations.
Assume it will spend the bulk of its energy (Score:5, Insightful)
attempting to maintain course if used anywhere outside of a lab.
Outdoors can be a challenge for something that light...
Re:Assume it will spend the bulk of its energy (Score:5, Informative)
It doesn't appear to have any lateral control at all, it just hovers and for testing they restrained it to moving vertically.
It's a paper, a proof of concept, not a practical vehicle.
There are much larger solar powered aircraft, but they rely on high altitudes and fixed wings, i.e. the power goes into propelling them forwards, and they can gain free lift like a glider too. Drones expend most of their energy on lift, like a helicopter, with the advantage that they can hover and don't need to keep moving forwards to stay in the air. That's the key thing about this demonstration, such a vehicle that lifts itself with existing solar panel technology is feasible.
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...such a vehicle that lifts itself with existing solar panel technology is feasible.
Until it encounters a light breeze... at which point it just tumbles.... so no longer technically flying, more accurately experiencing an uncontrolled descent event....
Re: Assume it will spend the bulk of its energy (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Assume it will spend the bulk of its energy (Score:5, Insightful)
Until it encounters a light breeze... at which point it just tumbles.
Yet quadrillions of insects manage controlled flight in light breezes.
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Bugs hate this one weird trick!
Until it encounters a light breeze... at which point it just tumbles.
Equating a couple billion years of evolved, autonomous, behavour to some rinky-dink lab-developed proxy is.... maybe not the brightest agument ever. But sure... let's give that a bash and pretend the challenge is trivial.
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maybe not the brightest agument ever.
It says the goal is attainable and we have subjects to study for inspiration, so... not the dimmest argument ever either.
Re:Assume it will spend the bulk of its energy (Score:4, Insightful)
Insects are small though, so the ratio of force from wind to weight is low. This drone is much larger than most insects, and has a lot of flat panels that would catch the wind. If it was miniaturised the solar panels wouldn't be big enough.
But as I said, it's a proof of concept. A scaled up version might be an alternative to balloons. Balloons don't control their lateral movement directly, only by ascending or descending to catch different air currents. It could potentially stay aloft indefinitely, and then do a controlled landing.
Re:Assume it will spend the bulk of its energy (Score:4, Insightful)
I wouldnt say all drones. We run the risk of conflating quad copter with drone. A drone is a remote piloted unmanned vehicle. It could be a boat. It could be a submersible. It could be a fixed wing predator flying recon and first strike hellfire missiles. Unfortunately when someone now says drone, people immediately conjure up images of a quad copter. To avoid that, we should really specify them like VTOL drones or quad copter drones. Heck in this experiment im not even sure we should bestow the title drone. We dont call basic RC copters and cars drones. There typically needs some advanced feature like self leveling and maintaining altitude without operator intervention.
And a 9kV supply (Score:5, Interesting)
More impressive to my mind, and omitted from the summary, is the step-up circuit from the solar cells' 4.5V to the 9kV required for the electrostatic motor, all within that tiny mass.
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My thought too!
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Given the comparison to the mass of printer paper, imagine taking that same idea and changing the rotor from vertical to horizontal, to push an actual paper airplane.
A little more work on it and... (Score:1)
Then they can fit it with a poison weapon and go after the prince.
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I was thinking of a camera/microphone, imitating those movies with insect-sized drones.
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Is an injectable dart filled with poison a poison weapon or a poisoned weapon?
Without the poison it isn't a real weapon.
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Re:A little more work on it and... (Score:5, Informative)
There's no particular word for the son of a duke.
Although, in the UK, a duke's heir apparent is entitled to use one of his father's lesser titles as a courtesy (but the duke remains the substantive holder). For example, the Duke of Norfolk is also Earl of Arundel and Baron Maltravers. His eldest son is, therefore, styled "Earl of Arundel". So the eldest son of a duke could be styled (in descending order of precedence) a marquess, an earl, a viscount, or a baron, depending on the titles held by the duke.
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The poison alone, excluding the containment, would weigh more than the drone. This weighs less than a paper airplane.
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There are poisons that work in extremely small doses. Consider diphtheria toxin.
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why am i suddenly conjuring up an image of the flying poison dart from Dune?
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Cough, no idea.
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Surely you must mean the Duke's son.
I see wheels within wheels.
Operating conditions would have to be optimal (Score:2)
That's quite a feat of engineering, but I wouldn't it have difficulty flying except when conditions were ideal? For something with so little mass, I'd think even a half-decent fart could be a problem.
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It can fly "up to" an indefinite amount of time, for the lifetime of the power supply and disposable components, given good air conditions.
Let's see, what other find print can we add to make sure all our bases are covered?
Wind (Score:2)
It's a bug (Score:2)
I wonder if insecticides will take it out.
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I wonder if insecticides will take it out.
Some WD-40 ought to do it.
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Oh yeah, light that thing on fire! That would be "not a flame thrower."