Researchers in China have made a significant breakthrough in micro aerial vehicle (MAV) technology.
They’ve developed an incredibly lightweight MAV, weighing a mere 4.21 grams (lighter than a sheet of paper!), that can fly for extended periods using only natural sunlight for power.
This innovation, detailed in a recent Nature publication, is expected to have a major impact on various sectors of the national economy.
The MAV boasts a 20-centimeter wingspan and utilizes a revolutionary electrostatic motor as its core. This groundbreaking motor allows the drone to take off and maintain flight solely on the energy harnessed from sunlight.
This achievement, entirely conceived by a team at Beihang University, promises to dramatically increase the flight time of MAVs, opening doors for a wider range of applications in the future.
Limited flight duration has been a major hurdle for widespread MAV adoption, particularly for ultralight models under 10 grams. These typically have a flight time of just 10 minutes.
The Beihang University researchers, in their Nature paper titled “Sunlight-powered sustained flight of an ultralight micro aerial vehicle,” acknowledged this challenge.
Prior attempts to create ultralight, solar-powered MAVs capable of sustained, untethered flight using natural sunlight have been unsuccessful.
Traditional propulsion systems, according to the study, suffer from limitations in payload capacity and low lift-to-power efficiency when miniaturized. While sunlight offers a promising solution for extended MAV endurance, the limited area available for solar panels becomes a constraint.
The small size, lightweight nature, and exceptional maneuverability of MAVs make them ideal for specialized tasks in confined spaces. These tasks include photography, detection, and even transportation, with potential applications across various sectors of the national economy.
However, as the researchers pointed out, traditional electromagnetic motors used in MAVs generate significant heat and have poor energy conversion efficiency when miniaturized.
This efficiency can drop below 10%, making it difficult to achieve desired flight times even with solar power due to the limited space for solar panels.
To overcome these limitations, the research team developed a micro electrostatic motor.
This new motor, successfully tested in an electrostatic aerial vehicle dubbed “CoulombFly,” operates at low speeds, generates minimal heat, and boasts high efficiency despite its small size. The university hails this as a breakthrough in the field of micro engine design.
Image—Handout
