Robotic Spy Planes Go Green
source: http://www.livescience.com/technology/091120-ideas-spy-power.html
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- DeliaTheArtist
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"Robot spy planes are harnessing alternative energy to make them more covert and longer lasting than ever.
Such drones could also find use in civilian life to help monitor the earth or wildlife as well, researchers noted.
The problem with using internal combustion engines for these spy drones is how noisy they are.
"Think about lawnmowers or chainsaws — they're really loud," said researcher Karen Swider-Lyons, head of the alternative energy section at the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington. "It's hard to spy on people when they know you're there, so you had to fly them at high altitudes to keep them from being heard."
Now scientists are developing a robot plane that runs off alternative energy. The hydrogen fuel cell that powers the "Ion Tiger" UAV make it travel farther and carrier heavier payloads than battery-powered designs, yet are still more stealthy than internal combustion engine designs with its reduced noise, heat and emissions.
Fuel cells generate an electrical current when they convert hydrogen and oxygen into water. Their emissions are not only pollution-free, but such a propulsion system can potentially also deliver twice the efficiency of an internal combustion engine, while running more quietly and with greater endurance. The 550-watt, 0.75 horsepower hydrogen fuel cell that drives Ion Tiger has about four times the efficiency of a comparable internal combustion engine and seven times the energy in the equivalent weight of batteries.
The benefits seen with Ion Tiger help showcase how alternative energy might help society at large.
"Can you imagine a green city with electric vehicles, quiet and not spewing diesel exhaust everywhere?" Swider-Lyons said. "You'll have people looking back and can't believing that we lived in such noisy cities with such pollution. It's not just an energy issue, but you're looking at quality of life improvements as well."
http://www.livescience.com/technology/091120-ideas-spy-power.html
Such drones could also find use in civilian life to help monitor the earth or wildlife as well, researchers noted.
The problem with using internal combustion engines for these spy drones is how noisy they are.
"Think about lawnmowers or chainsaws — they're really loud," said researcher Karen Swider-Lyons, head of the alternative energy section at the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington. "It's hard to spy on people when they know you're there, so you had to fly them at high altitudes to keep them from being heard."
Now scientists are developing a robot plane that runs off alternative energy. The hydrogen fuel cell that powers the "Ion Tiger" UAV make it travel farther and carrier heavier payloads than battery-powered designs, yet are still more stealthy than internal combustion engine designs with its reduced noise, heat and emissions.
Fuel cells generate an electrical current when they convert hydrogen and oxygen into water. Their emissions are not only pollution-free, but such a propulsion system can potentially also deliver twice the efficiency of an internal combustion engine, while running more quietly and with greater endurance. The 550-watt, 0.75 horsepower hydrogen fuel cell that drives Ion Tiger has about four times the efficiency of a comparable internal combustion engine and seven times the energy in the equivalent weight of batteries.
The benefits seen with Ion Tiger help showcase how alternative energy might help society at large.
"Can you imagine a green city with electric vehicles, quiet and not spewing diesel exhaust everywhere?" Swider-Lyons said. "You'll have people looking back and can't believing that we lived in such noisy cities with such pollution. It's not just an energy issue, but you're looking at quality of life improvements as well."
http://www.livescience.com/technology/091120-ideas-spy-power.html
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