DARPA honors drone teams for light copters that carry heavy loads
Presently, cargo-carrying helicopters and multirotor drones have at best a 1:1 payload-to-body-weight ratio. However, think how much more efficient they would be if that ratio could be boosted to 4:1 or beyond.
Well, that's exactly what US Department of Defense organization DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) set out to make happen with its recent Lift Challenge.
In a nutshell, the competition invited teams from around the world to develop VTOL (vertical takeoff and landing) drones weighing less than 55 lb (25 kg) while being capable of lifting at least one 110-lb (50-kg) standard barbell plate. That plate had to be carried down a 100-ft (30.5-m)-wide lane at an altitude of 150 ft (45.7 m) for 4 nautical miles (7.4 km), dropped on the ground, then the drone had to continue flying for one more nautical mile (1.9 km) before landing.
The event took place in Ohio at the National...
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