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Lockheed Martin Stalker drone stays airborne 48 hours using laser power, all-seeing eye gets literal (video)
Aerial drone designers have been pushing hard to get devices that can stay airborne for days. After all, what's the point of having an observer that routinely lets its guard down? Lockheed Martin must have this question forever etched in its collective mind, as it just completed tests of a modified Stalker drone that was continually charged by laser power beamed from a ground-based source. The LaserMotive-built test was admittedly conducted in a wind tunnel, not a wind-swept battlefield, but it kept the drone aloft for more than 48 hours and was so efficient that it might even have gone indefinitely, if it weren't for staff intentionally bringing the trial to a halt. The true test is coming next, when Lockheed Martin and LaserMotive fly the drone on laser power outdoors. Should the Stalker sail the friendly skies for long enough, it could help usher in an era of UAVs that can spot intruders at all hours -- a little too close to the aircraft's name for comfort, perhaps, but potentially vital for Special Operations troops that might not have to put themselves in danger. You can check the underpinnings of both the laser power system and the Stalker in videos after the break.
Space Elevator conference gets theoretical, says lift won't not happen in 150 years
With the shuttle program being mothballed, we're going to need a new way to get off this rock. How about that old space ladder concept? You know, the one riddled with issues that nearly trump its ambitions. The idea has faced its share of technological walls: NASA's related Beam Power Challenge ended without a winner for years on end, and the project's Tether Challenge remains unconquered today. Not to mention that the week-long lift might expose you to deadly levels of radiation. Lucky for us, attendees of the annual Space Elevator Conference aren't ready to give up, and set to work last week brainstorming potential solutions. Could we replace the laser power system with solar panels? How strong are modern nanocarbons, and what issues do we need to be aware of to keep the carbon nanotube cables from breaking? Wouldn't it be cool if the next design featured six cars instead of just three? Although the outpouring of ideas flowed like water, the response to many of them seemed to be the same: we really need to look into that. Despite the seemingly insurmountable issues, researchers remain optimistic, "We try not to be narrow-minded and say it won't happen for 150 years," stated one NASA program manager. We'll just take the stairs, thanks.
LaserMotive's unnamed quadrocopter hovers for 12 solid hours using lasers alone
Protip: $900,000 goes a long way, particularly when you're dumping practically all of it into a single investment (Hello Kitty lap warmers notwithstanding). LaserMotive, the company lauded for bringing home nearly a million bucks in the 2009 NASA-sponsored Space Elevator Games, has just broken an endurance record for laser-powered hovering with its unnamed Pelican. This here quadrocopter is designed to get energized by converting beams into power via a set of photovoltaic panels on its underside, and in a recent test, lasers were able to keep it afloat for over 12 hours. It never hovered much higher than 30 feet, and it barely moved from left to right while in the air, but we're guessing it was marginally more interesting than watching paint dry. All jesting aside, the milestone makes it a lot more feasible for the company to get this technology into UAVs used in the military -- "for example, laser-powered copters could perform on-the-road reconnaissance missions when convoys travel through a combat zone." And if you're looking to take home something similar on a far smaller scale, there's always the AR.Drone.
LaserMotive finally wins NASA's Elevator:2010 Beam Power Challenge, climbs at 3.9 meters/second (video)
NASA has been trying to find someone that could meet its rigorous Space Elevator demands since 2005 and, after some notable failures, we finally have a winner. A company called LaserMotive has won the Beam Power Challenge, tasked with creating a laser-powered robot able to lift a weight on a cable at a speed of greater than two meters per second. LaserMotive's bot nearly doubled that, managing 3.9 meters per second in one test. It was the only competitor to beat the requirement, meaning it gets the full $900,000 prize, and if anyone ever gets around to winning the Tether Challenge we might just be able to get somewhere. Nausea-inducing test video is embedded below.
