New Solar-Cell Wing Will Boost AeroVironment’s Puma Drone

PUMA UAV Test Launch (PRNewsfoto/SolAero Technologies Corp.)

A partnership between a number one solar-cell supplier and Johns Hopkins University might give a sunny forecast to longer drone battery life.

Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory lately awarded a contract to SolAero Technologies Corp. – maker of photo voltaic cells and aerospace-applied composite structural merchandise. The contract will fall underneath the authority of the U.S. Department of Defense.

The partnership will develop an built-in solar-cell wing rig for AeroVironment’s Puma fixed-wing drone with plans to check the brand new product later this 12 months.

The photo voltaic wing – composed of high-efficiency photo voltaic cells built-in onto a ruggedized composite construction – is just about an identical to a traditional wing on the Puma. However, utilizing the ability of the solar, the brand new wing will prolong flight time and maximize payload pull.

“We are excited by the opportunity to provide our lightweight, affordable integrated solar wing technology to APL in support of this important DoD program,” SolAero CEO Brad Clevenger mentioned in a press launch. “We look forward to the upcoming flight tests and to the positive results enabled by our cooperation with APL on this project.”

The photo voltaic wing is the brainchild of each SolAero and the corporate’s subsidiary, Alliance Spacesystems. During latest flight assessments at Yuma Proving Ground earlier this 12 months, SolAero officers say the brand new wing “performed flawlessly and demonstrated power generation equal to engineering estimates.”

The new contract represents one more foray into the drone world for Johns Hopkins.

In September, JHU medical researchers accomplished what could be the longest medical drone supply flight throughout greater than 160 miles of Arizona desert. The fixed-wing flight efficiently demonstrated the advantages of delivering blood samples or different pressing medical payloads by way of UAS.

Using an onboard system which maintained correct temperatures for the cargo of valuable blood, the drone completed in three hours – loads of time to maintain the samples viable for medical evaluation.

“We expect that in many cases, drone transport will be the quickest, safest and most efficient option to deliver some biological samples to a laboratory from rural or urban settings,” JHU pathology professor Timothy Amukele mentioned of the flight.

Translation – but once more, drones save lives.

Jason is a longstanding contributor to DroneLife with an avid curiosity in all issues tech. He focuses on anti-drone applied sciences and the general public security sector; police, fireplace, and search and rescue.

Beginning his profession as a journalist in 1996, Jason has since written and edited 1000’s of partaking information articles, weblog posts, press releases and on-line content material. He has gained a number of media awards over time and has since expanded his experience into the organizational and academic communications sphere.

In addition to his proficiency within the discipline of enhancing and writing, Jason has additionally taught communications on the college stage and continues to guide seminars and coaching periods within the areas of media relations, enhancing/writing and social media engagement.

Email Jason
TWITTER:@JasonPReagan



Previous NASA May Send Drone to Saturn to Search for Alien Life
Next Drones in 2018: Thought Leaders Make Predictions

Check Also

Ukrainian drones aim to turn war experience into civil busin…

Juggling two jobs is hard work. It’s particularly hard work when one of the jobs …

Local tech company expanding with new building in downtown F…

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) — A Fresno tech and educational company is expanding. Quiq Labs held …