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| Solar UAV artist rendering. Photo: Alta Devices |
[Avionics Today 10-17-2014] Alta Devices has announced cooperation with Airware to enable manufacturers of small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to integrate solar power into their aircraft. By integrating thin and lightweight solar material onto the wings of a small UAV, Alta believes that flight endurance can be increased by more than four times over traditional engine- or battery-powered UAVs. On certain designs, Alta claims that a solar-enabled UAV can fly all day long under sunny conditions, without landing to swap or recharge batteries.
Airware offers hardware, software and cloud services for the rapid development and safe operation of commercial drones. By partnering with Airware — a provider of hardware, software and cloud services for commercial UAVs — Alta Devices will bring its AnyLight solar cell technology to a wide range of commercial vehicles operating around the world.
“For precision agriculture, search and rescue, or land surveying, UAVs need to fly longer and farther than today’s systems provide. The most effective way to increase endurance is by adding solar, and Airware and Alta Devices are making that possible,” said Rich Kapusta, vice president of sales and marketing for Alta Devices.