One of the main problems of modern UAVs is battery life. Developers are not the first year trying to improve this feature, using various technologies and even new designs of aircraft. American researchers have proposed an alternative way to increase flight time, using a scientific approach to the power supply of drones engines.

Scientists from the University of California at Berkeley have modernized the photoelectric motor developed back in 2011, providing the drone engine with energy due to photovoltaics - converting the heat of sunlight into electricity. An ultra-light envelope-sized generator allows the drone to be airborne for up to several days without recharging.

To increase the "stuck" at around 23% battery efficiency up to 29%, the researchers succeeded in installing a mirror on the rear wall of the photodetector. Reflecting photons, it additionally heats the heat source and creates a dense infrared fluorescent photon gas inside the solar cell. In combination with new materials in battery design, the efficiency of the latter is expected to increase to 50%.

It is expected that in the future such a system will be able to provide electricity not only to drones, but also space probes and even entire buildings.

4pda.ru