An exclusive gaming industry community targeted
to, and designed for Professionals, Businesses
and Students in the sectors and industries
of Gaming, New Media and the Web, all closely
related with it's Business and Industry.
A Rich content driven service including articles,
contributed discussion, news, reviews, networking, downloads,
and debate.
We strive to cater for cultural influencers,
technology decision makers, early adopters and business leaders in the gaming industry.
A medium to share your or contribute your ideas,
experiences, questions and point of view or network
with other colleagues here at iVirtua Community.
The next time you see something flapping in the breeze on anoverhead power line, squint a little harder. It may not be a plasticbag or the remnants of a party balloon, but a tiny spy plane stealingpower from the line to recharge its batteries.
The idea comes from the US Air Force Research Lab (AFRL)in Dayton, Ohio, US, which wants to operate extended surveillancemissions using remote-controlled planes with a wingspan of about ametre, but has been struggling to find a way to refuel to extend theplane's limited flight duration.
Sothe AFRL is developing an electric motor-powered micro air vehicle(MAV) that can "harvest" energy when needed by attaching itself to apower line. It could even temporarily change its shape to look morelike innocuous piece of trash hanging from the cable.
AFRL'sinitial aim is to work out how to make a MAV flying at 74 kilometresper hour latch onto a power line without destroying itself or the line.
Inaddition, so as not to arouse suspicion, AFRL says the spy plane willneed to collapse its wings and hang limply on the cable like a piece ofwind-blown detritus. Much of the "morphing" technology to perform thishas already been developed by DARPA,the Pentagon's research division. Technologies developed in thatprogram include carbon composite "sliding skins", which allow fuselagesto change shape, and telescopic wings that allow lift to be boosted inseconds by boosting a wing's surface area.
Challenges abound, though. Zac Richardson, a power-line engineer with National Gridin the UK, warns that if the MAV contacts an 11-kilovolt local powerline, it could short circuit two conductors, causing an automaticdisconnection of the very power the plane seeks.
And,on a 400 kilovolt inter-city power line, it risks discharging sparks."It will hang there fizzing and banging and giving its position awayanyway," says Richardson.
"Evenkites falling across power lines cause breakdowns," adds Ian Fells, anexpert in electricity transmission based in Newcastle, UK. "It's anutterly bizarre idea to try to land a plane on one."
Regardless of the challenges faced, AFRL plans test flights in 2008.
Digg Topic
Tag topic on On del.icio.us
Technorati Search
Post to Slashdot
