Automatic UAV Wireless Charging over Solar Vehicle to Enable Frequent Flight Missions

Abstract

This paper describes a design of low-cost and practical approach for recharging an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) autonomously for missions in remote areas. A wireless charging platform has been constructed on a solar powered vehicle that allows the drone to virtually recharge an unlimited number of times. Moreover, a control strategy is proposed to manage the quadcopter landing, charging, and takeoff processes autonomously. Usually, the UAV uses the estimated GPS data to reach roughly the charging platform. Therefore, the UAV has been equipped with an Infra-Red (IR)-Lock sensor to increase the potential of automatic landing within a very precise area. The proposed system has been implemented and tested. Many experiments show that the proposed outdoor positioning and charging approach is valid and effective for charging an UAV that performs frequent missions in remote areas.