One of the biggest drawbacks of drones is their relatively short battery life. It's a difficult problem: bigger batteries provide power for longer, but they also weigh more. A team at Stanford is seeking to completely bypass that problem with a novel approach.
Flying a drone takes a certain amount of foresight and planning, as once it's in the air, you only have about 20 minutes before the battery runs out. What if you want to take a time-lapse or record a long video without cuts, though? Then, you're often out of luck. Instead of trying to advance battery technology, one team is taking a different approach: parking the drone in midair. Taking a cue from the insect world, Hao Jiang, Morgan T. Pope, William R.T. Roderick, and Mark R. Cutkosky are employing microspines, the same grippers that allow insects to climb walls and ceilings, to create drones that can grip vertical or upside-down surfaces.
Doing this obviates the need for longer battery life in many situations, as one could find a wall or ceiling with the requisite perspective, land the drone there, then shoot almost to their heart's content. Of course, there are situations where such a surface isn't available, but in urban or certain natural environments, the strategy could be a huge boon to photographers, scientists, and search and rescue teams. Check out the video for more!
[via IEEE Spectrum]
Drone crashes and fails and a flying dead stuffed cat: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoao_TPtvnA
the strategy could be a huge boon to Military, Spy- and Secret Services. Check out the video for more!