Lightweight low power drone can fly for about 30 minutes

The image in the article titled Maple Seeds influenced this lightweight, low-power microdrone that can fly for almost 30 minutes.

Humans can fly with the help of abundant engineering, but Mother Nature has already come up with a much easier way to soar, like the rotating seeds of a maple tree. Scatter By floating in the wind like a powerless helicopter. It’s a beautiful and efficient design, Inspired by this sSimilarly lightweight drone You can even record video, even though it’s constantly spinning.

I’ve seen other researchers turn to powerful maple trees for inspiration, including engineers at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. Microchip with sensor with small wings that To give permission They float passively in the breeze and rotate as they descend, making them easier to disperse over large areas without the need for a unique power source for each microflyer.

Researchers at City University of Hong Kong were also inspired by the unique way maple trees sow seeds, but instead helped design battery-powered drones that draw in electricity and extend flight time. It’s as good as most quadcopter drones these days, but the four propeller setups that help maintain stability while increasing agility in flight have a lot of power and chunky in-flight. Requires a battery.

In a recently published paper in the journal Science roboticsResearchers elaborate on the design of bicopters built primarily around two wings in a symmetrical layout— Like a rotor on most helicopters — Electronics and batteries In the middle of the device.. The wingspan of the bicopter is almost 24 inches, Made of a lightweight frame and other materials that weigh only 35 grams with a small battery attached. The drone is also two small, An electric motor-driven propeller near the tip of each wing maintains rotation at about 200 rpm, and the wing provides the lift needed to stay in the air.

The drone design essentially stabilizes the drone in flight. In short, the microprocessor that continuously adjusts the speed of each motor for stability relies on the quadcopter.-there is no need.. yes, With a 250 mAh battery connected and minimal electronics to power, the drone stayed on a consistent hover for just over 24 minutes during the test.,this is Impressive performance considering its minimum weight.

But when the drone became powerful enough to carry a camera, the drone market really exploded. Lightweight flight equipment that only flies is not very practical.Drone like DJI’s new Mini 3 Pro Use the camera attached to the stabilizer to capture amazingly smooth footage during flight, but attach Cameras to drones that constantly rotate at 200 rpm are usually Only create dazzling images.

However, researchers have come up with a clever workaround. They attached a small 22-gram camera to the drone and synchronized its frame rate with the drone’s rotation, so the camera captures the frame only once per 360-degree rotation to record positive footage. Using this trick, The drone was actually able to record four (mostly) Stable video in various directions at 3.5fps each.

Will this design replace what companies like DJI do with camera drones? Not immediately, but showing a new approach to controlled flight that has significantly reduced power demand. This can help increase flight time and the distance the drone can cover in a single outing.

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