Autonomous Overhead Powerline Drone Recharging

Drones are used for a wide variety of tasks. Most of them have a limited range, so they require charging mid-mission. Researchers have now come up with a fully autonomous self-recharging drone system. This drone has a vision and navigation system to locate powerlines to land on them. Here is how it works:

A passively actuated gripping mechanism grasps the powerline cable during landing after which a control circuit regulates the magnetic field inside a split-core current transformer to provide sufficient holding force as well as battery recharging.

This approach allows drones to take on longer missions without major interruptions.

[HT]