Tag: power

Dr. Samer Aldhaher’s drone can fly indefinitely using wireless power instead of battery

Non-military drones are still a new technology for it to be considered as a conventional commercial product. No matter how hard some big companies try to present it as a viable technology of today, it still is far fetched. The drone technology available at the moment ends up choking on its own limitations, i.e. power source.

Most Consumer friendly drones offer a very limited flight time, which generally falls between 10 to 30 minutes. While it can usually be solved by using a larger battery source but it results in increased weight to be carried by the drone itself, which means you need a higher power to keep the drone hovering in the sky and you fall back where you started. It’s this dilemma that inspired one researcher to develop a prototype that can indefinitely maintain its flight without having to rely on the local power source.

Dr. Samer Aldhaher from Imperial College London designed a lightweight drone that can draw power from a wireless transmitter below it. The simple version is that this squad has had its battery removed and has been outfitted with a coil of copper foil tape. This acts as a receiver for the electromagnetic waves that are being put out by the plate that the drone is flying over. It’s not that different from the wireless tech some phones use to charge, except the drone is flying.

It is a very cool prototype which opens a window to think about a new world of wirelessly powered devices but presently, it is not entirely practical. here’s a lot of limitations at this point, of course, such as the need for the drone to only hover five inches above the transmitter with minimal sideways movement.

Current technology can make wireless power to only work reliably over a very small distance. If, however, you intend to fly it from point A to point B, you’d have to lay down a stripe of power-transmitting material and make sure that there are no obstructions between the path as it can only hover a few inches of that stripe.

It would be interesting to see whether we could solve the power issues in the near future until then this prototype is as good as a power consuming ornament for your desk.

New technology is being discovered more frequently as we slowly glide to the future. It would be no surprise if we attribute technology making us independent uncannily. In the meanwhile, why don’t you entertain yourself by building a Lego drone?

Source: YouTube | Image: Pixabay

September 24, 2016
Tech Armor ActivePower 12000mAh Portable Power Bank (Review)

It is the age of gadgets, and one thing’s for sure – with the ultimate power of the internet to accompany them, we’ve never been more plugged in than we’re today. To stay connected, one need power, and in order to store power in those traditional rechargeable batteries, you’d have to experience an inconsistency in your work, especially, when you are traveling. So, what is the solution? A portable consistent power source, which can be easily carried around and has enough juice to recharge the gadget at least twice. This is where a power bank comes to the rescue!

Well, there is a huge list of companies that sell power banks, each varying just a little on specifications. In this case, it is really difficult to figure out which one can be a right investment. Fortunately, we were able to add one more power bank to our list of reviewed item. Tech Armor may be a stranger to most of you, especially if you’re at the European or Asian Continents, and you’d be right about that. It is actually a company that sells the mobile protective case, power banks and other mobile accessories.

Unboxing

Inside the box, you’ll find a 12,000 mAh Power Bank, a white USB cable, some manual and user guide. Nothing fancy, just usual stuff here. The packaging was alright. Guys at Tech Armor were kind enough to send me extra lightning cable along with the power bank in case I had an iPhone instead of a device with the microUSB port. I am pretty sure you’ll have to buy the lightning port separately if you do not have one. The box only ships with microUSB port.

Build Quality & Design

The best thing about Tech Armor PowerBank is its Build Quality and design. The velvety finish on top, good quality plastic case and rounded body look and feel really good in person. It is actually smaller in size than it appear in the picture, which is another advantage over other PowerBanks.

There are two USB ports, ideally, one is for Smartphones and another is to charge gadgets with higher capacity batteries such as Tablets. My Samsung Galaxy S6 didn’t appear to charge as quickly as it would with bundled charger. I ended up using Tablet port on the power bank for a faster charge, only to find out that it didn’t dramatically speed up charging process. It clearly indicates that these two ports have a different power supply, but no fast charge capabilities. This is where things started to move downwards.

There is a power button on the side, which is the only physical button you’ll find on the device. Holding the button for few seconds will trigger the ‘torch’ located at the top of the microUSB port. The power indicator on top has 4 LED lights, indicating the percentage of juice left on the PowerBank.

Performance & Ease of use

The TechArmor PowerBank doesn’t appear to deliver the backup it promises. The 12,000 mAh capacity should be able to charge my Huawei Honor 6 Plus at least 2.5 times. However, during my test, I found that it would hardly go up to 1.8 times, which mean, the PowerBank itself would require me to charge before filling up my phones battery twice. It is a serious red flag right there.

Additionally, the PowerBank takes too long to recharge itself. It took 5-6 hours to charge up to 100%. Frequent travellers would really want to stay away from this as it is highly unreliable.

What do we think?

Tech Armor ActivePower 12000mAh External Battery Portable Dual USB Power Bank has great build quality and design. The small case is easier to hold in hands and carry around. However, the device has many drawbacks, given it is not cheap. The few minor bugs would’ve been acceptable if the device was made available at lower price. The Tech Armor PowerBank targets mid-market segment as it is available at $49.99 on their Official Website. When recognized players such as Huawei (AP007 Review), Xiaomi, Lenovo, and OnePlus has already settled with PowerBanks Prices around $20, I don’t see a point going for this overpriced device.

If your priority is design, look and feel over the performance and reliability, you’re in good hands. However, we would strongly suggest you look elsewhere.

March 21, 2016
This super thin solar panel mobile charger is trending on kickstarter

Keeping your smartphone alive can be a little tricky when you are away from home. It gets worse when charging sockets are unavailable and even worse when you don’t possess a charger itself. Thanks to this new solar panel chargers, you can charge your smartphones and other gadgets without relying on the power outlets.

A new Solar charger by Yolk — called Solar Paper is exactly what the name suggests. It is thin as paper, and can charge any device which requires power up to 10 watts.

The 7.5-inches long, 3.5 wide and 1.5 thin – Solar Paper is real easy to carry around and can prove to be a lifesaver (for your smartphone obviously) when you need it the most. The one-the-go companion has 0.45-inch thick USB charging port at the top, which is connected to the solar panel, and acts as a gateway for power juice for your gadgets.

A nifty feature is Solar Panel’s auto restart. With similar gadgets, a passing cloud or sudden shadow shuts the charger down, forcing the manual reboot. But Solar Panel resets that automatically. You can use it to charge anything that connects with USB: GoPro, external batteries, Bluetooth speakers, digital cameras, and so on.

Each solar paper is capable of producing 2.5W, which is sufficient for charging an external battery or low energy devices like GoPro. To charge an iPhone you should have at least 2 solar paper connected to each other (using the magnetic connector on the paper which offers easy attachment/detachment), which is combined to produce 5W. You can connect up to 4 solar papers together to produce total of 10W of power.

There are a couple of other advantages of using magnets in Solar Paper, too. First, there’s no wear and tear when you fold or unfold the panels, greatly extending Solar Paper’s life. The magnets are also quite strong, so you can use them to mount Solar Paper to metal objects, as shown in the picture.

At the time of writing this article, this project has already raised more than $400,000 from 2,749 backers on Kickstarter. It still has 33 days to go before this campaign ends, by which this number is expected to be multiplied by 10.

Have a look at the official video, and a message from Sen Change, CEO, Yolk:

July 18, 2015
Solara – drone can fly non-stop for 5 years without being refueled

What if a drone never has to be refuel, that could fly non-stop all over the world and fulfill all the work that a regular expensive satellites can achieve right now. You would say either it is impossible, or way too impractical to be used in real world, Right? — But, you would wrong!

Titan aerospace has invented a drone that powers itself from solar energy and can fly non-stop for at least 5 years. The Solara 50, named for its 50-meter wingspan, will fly at 65,000 feet—above most other aircraft and above weather that could disturb its flight and block the sun, its source of power. Titan will market it as an “atmospheric satellite.”

The team designed an electric motor that allows the drone to fly upto 60 mph. The 350 pound drone has a strong, light airframe with a structure made of mostly carbon fiber that provides the drone with required lifespan. There are thousands of solar cells that covers the 50 meter upper wing, elevator, and horizontal stabilizer – which can generate more than seven kilowatts of power during the day. There are Lithium-ion batteries inside the wings that stores the power to keep all systems going at night.

Don’t believe us? Watch the video below:

March 4, 2014