Laser Tech Powers Drones Wirelessly
Drones can only carry so much power in their onboard batteries, so wireless methods of transmitting energy have been explored recently. Laser power is one option; however, as laser-powered receivers absorb more energy, they also generate more heat, causing their efficiency to fall precisely when high power is needed most. But now, a group of researchers has made a significant step toward solving that problem by redesigning both the receiver and the way it is integrated into an aircraft, resulting in a system capable of wirelessly powering a drone propeller with record efficiency.
The research, conducted by scientists at the Civil Aviation University of China and Tsinghua University, centers on a perovskite laser cell-thermoelectric (PLC-TE) tandem device. Unlike conventional solar cells that harvest sunlight, this receiver is optimized to convert laser light into electricity. A perovskite layer captures the incoming laser energy, while a thermoelectric layer recovers some of...
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