Fast Company calls it a “vampire drone,” but the drone developed by a team of researchers at the University of Southern Denmark is designed to find and suck power, not blood.
Dramatic headlines aside, the idea has significance for industrial drone flight beyond visual line of sight. With many drones still limited by relatively short battery life, the ability for a drone getting low on battery charge to autonomously find a nearby power line, attach itself, charge its battery, and keep flying has major value.
How the Powerline Recharging Drone Works
The research paper introduces a fully autonomous self-recharging drone system designed for prolonged operations near powerlines. The drone system utilizes an onboard perception and navigation system to locate powerlines and land on them autonomously. A unique gripping mechanism, based on a split-core current transformer, allows the drone to grasp the powerline cable during landing, providing both stability and a means for recharging the drone’s battery.
The drone system’s operation is structured around a mission autonomy system, which orchestrates the drone’s activities, cycling between inspection and recharging as necessary. The gripper design is optimized to minimize the force required for closure while ensuring reliable grasping of the powerline cable. The magnetic control circuit maintains the holding force on the powerline while also harvesting energy based on the powerline current level and battery state.
Key components of the drone system include a Tarot 650 Sport base vehicle frame, quadcopter propulsion system, CUAV Pixhawk V6X Autopilot, Raspberry Pi 4 B for onboard computing, and various perception sensors including mmWave radar and a global shutter USB camera. The gripper mechanism is integrated into the drone’s structure, supporting its weight and facilitating battery recharging while landed on a powerline.
Experimental testing conducted in an outdoor three-phase powerline environment demonstrated the system’s capability for continuous operation. The system was able to sustain more than two hours of uninterrupted flight, comprising multiple inspection and recharging cycles. Charging power varied with powerline current levels, ranging from 15 W to 181 W, significantly reducing charging times. Trajectory data from the experiments confirmed successful cable landings and takeoffs, showcasing the system’s operational reliability.
Overall, the presented drone system represents a significant advancement in autonomous aerial inspection technology, offering the potential for extended missions without the need for human intervention, thus enhancing efficiency and safety in infrastructure inspection tasks. But while obviously perfect for powerline inspection, electricity providers may object to other drones stealing a charge en route to their destination.
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Miriam McNabb is the Editor-in-Chief of DRONELIFE and CEO of JobForDrones, a professional drone services marketplace, and a fascinated observer of the emerging drone industry and the regulatory environment for drones. Miriam has penned over 3,000 articles focused on the commercial drone space and is an international speaker and recognized figure in the industry. Miriam has a degree from the University of Chicago and over 20 years of experience in high tech sales and marketing for new technologies.
For drone industry consulting or writing, Email Miriam.
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