Now China has laser-powered drones that can stay aloft ‘forever’. Should we worry?

Researchers in China claim to have developed a way to keep drones in the air ‘forever’. How did they do this? By powering the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAVs) via high-energy laser beams. Let’s take a closer look: According to SCMP, Professor Li Xuelong and others from Northwestern Polytechnical University (NPU) hypothesised that a drone equipped with a photoelectric conversion module (which converts light energy into electricity) could be remotely charged using a high-energy laser beam. The team in a recent experiment then successfully melded the independent charging process, signal transmission and processing technology – showing that in theory, such technology would allow drones to remain airborne ‘forever’. The team created an “intelligent visual tracking algorithm” to keep the beam locked on the UAV as well as a ‘beam shaping system’ to account for atmospheric changes, as per New Atlas. The team further created a way to recognise obstacles and adjust the power of the laser beam. The team said it carried out three separate tests – indoor follow-up flight, outdoor daytime flight, and outdoor night flight – with flying drones successfully in all of them. The team wrote on the NPU’s WeChat account last week, “Highlights of the research are 24-hour intelligent vision tracking system and the autonomous long-range energy replenishment for ODD.” Interesting Engineering quoted the team as saying in their report, “In some time-consuming missions, such as searching for tourists trapped in flash floods, the continuous flight of drones will greatly save precious rescue time." “ODD are expected to deeply participate in social governance, such as traffic control, security patrols, rescues in disasters and contactless logistics." Though details of the drones, including the distance they can cover and charging efficacy, have not been made public due to a possibility of its application in the military, an illustration in the report showed they could fly as high as skyscrapers, as per SCMP. But some remain sceptical of the technology. According to the website Interesting Engineering, charging drones in such a manner could be ‘prohibitively expensive’ as it would require lots of energy, many UAVs and laser beams. There also remain questions about the safety of sending high-energy laser beams into the air.

Regardless, when it comes to drones, China isn’t alone in trying to breach new barriers.

In 2022, the website The Warzone reported that the US is researching how to convert flying refuelling tankers into “airborne energy wells” to fuel battery-powered drones. That same month the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) requested feedback from the industry on how to convert the US Air Force’s existing KC-135 and KC-46 Pegasus tankers with an “underwing beaming pod.” The website The Byte in 2018 said the US Army is developing a system to power drones at 500 metres in mid-flight from the ground. The system works in much the same manner – aiming a laser at a  photovoltaic cell on the drone. However, the report added that any left over laser energy, which turns into heat, can leave the drone damaged. As per New Atlas, in 2012, PowerLight, a Washington-based firm, unveiled a similar charging system. The firm kept a large UAV airborne for two days in a wind tunnel. It also charged a Lockheed Martin Stalker drone at a range of 600 metres. As per the website the company PowerLight seems much nearer to releasing such a product commercially. The company claims to be working on all-weather “long-range, lightweight and compact wireless laser power transmission”  with in-built safety systems. With inputs from agencies Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.