Study on Laser-Powered Aerial Vehicle: Prolong Flying Time Using 976nm Laser Source

Youngchan Lim, Young Won Choi, Jihoon Ryoo

Abstract: To date, popular commercial DAVs(Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) are required to have heavyweight batteries for providing power sources due to the challenges of self-powered or remotely transferred power within severely constrained weight budgets. The battery is obviously the bottleneck of flying time. In this study, we introduce and discuss a laser-powered UAV and its battery's charging and discharging characteristics in the laser-powered environment. This study is focused on connecting a 976nm laser source matched to a lightweight PV (Photo Voltaic) cell and a lithium polymer battery. We prototyped a PV cell-based LWPT (Laser-based Wireless Power Transfer) which is fabricated with commercially available components. Once it is full-fledged in the near future, UAVs could fly multiple hours without landing.