Flying Robot Uses Less Power For Longer Flights

A flying robot developed in the Netherlands can float on gusts of wind like a bird, using 150 times less power than it does during propelled flight, Alex Wilkins reported for New Scientist.

Photo Insert: With keener eyes and communications systems, the robot can function as a loitering intelligence gathering device as well.

It can also adjust its position automatically when the wind changes to catch the breeze and stay aloft, giving it an additional advantage to military-type drones now being used extensively by Ukraine to kick out Russian troops.

With keener eyes and communications systems, the robot can function as a loitering intelligence gathering device as well.

The main limit on how long a drone can stay in the air is the lifetime of the battery it uses to power its propellers, but Sunyou Hwang at the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands and her colleagues have developed a flying robot that uses its throttle just 0.25% of the time, on average, while hovering in place.

When the robot is flying around, it uses its throttle 38% of the time.

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