Petrol-powered drones are expensive, electric drones have limited flying time and, until now, developers of solar drones have grappled with either the weight of fixing solar panels, or the expense of creating body materials that incorporate solar cells.
Another approach that has previously been used is the use of a thin film of solar cells wrapped over the body of the drone, but that technology costs about $35,000 per square metre. Comparatively, Praxis’ method costs just $1000 per square metre.
Praxis uses a laminating process to incorporate standard solar cells in the composite material of the aircraft – a process that Cameron Donaldson has used in the shipbuilding industry to encapsulate timber in the construction of high-end yachts.
“Through the process of taking out a patent, we have discovered that people have tried and they’ve got close,” Cameron said. “The issue has been making laminates that are perfectly clear to allow the cells to operate at maximum efficiency.”
Applying the process to a drone also made sense commercially.
“It’s the best application to prove the worth of the process, because it’s a relatively small product to manufacture, and no other product we have come across has had the improvement factor,” says Cameron. “We have been able to improve the flight duration by six times (most electric drones can only fly for one hour).”
The challenge for the company has been to create a larger prototype, to show off to the market – now, the Australian Government has awarded Praxis AU$150,000 in funding from its early commercialisation fund for this purpose.
The ultimate goal is to create a drone that can fly in daylight hours for a virtually unlimited number of hours. The drone will have a battery on board and will become, essentially, its own charging station – able to land and recharge when power gets low, before taking off again.
The Donaldson’s believe their drone will have numerous commercial applications, from aerial mapping for the mining industry, environmental management, cheaper shark spotting in summer and fast deliveries of medicines to remote communities.
