High-Endurance UAV Via Parasitic Weight Minimization and Wireless Energy Harvesting

This paper discusses the on-going investigation of novel technologies for increasing the endurance of UAVs, mainly by increasing power-to-weight ratio through parasitic weight reduction of structural and power systems and generating/harvesting energy mid-flight. Electrically-powered UAVs are typically limited in range and mission time due to the limited capacity of existing technologies. The benefit of increased endurance is the ability to provide virtually nonstop surveillance over an area, which has both commercial and military applications. The student engineering team at the California State Polytechnic University, Pomona have been working on this multi-year, multidisciplinary project to integrate a variety of technologies into an existing RC aircraft. Flexible solar panels that double as wing skin, vibrational kinetic energy generators, in-flight induction wireless recharging and thermoelectric generators are the four main methods of generating power during flight. To store the power, the wing spars double as the main batteries and structural supercapacitors could replace the lower wing skin. These storage devices reduce parasitic weight by doubling as aircraft structural components, therefore forming a "flying battery". An intelligent power management system was developed to accept the AC and DC power sources and maximize re-charge rate by alternating which battery is charged at a given time.