This is kinda bizarre...

The US Air Force Research Lab (AFRL) is developing with DARPA a new small spy plane. The remote control plane will have a wingspan of about 1 meter.

The vehicle will have the ability to land on electric power lines and refuel itself by leeching off the line. Oh, and while it's there it will be able to "morph" it's shape so it looks like an innocuous piece of trash hanging from the line to avoid attracting attention.

More info here

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Bill Wood - Retired Webmaster
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Now that is cool. And it will have the added effect of encouraging people to shoot at junction boxes and stuff hanging on elevated lines just in case they might turn out to be a spy bot!

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1984 300TD

Oh, man .. that's obscene ... "leeching itself off the power line".

But nevermind, I already know, someone is watching me ... <<< smile

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It runs off dilithium crystals.

I hope they have a sense of ethics and plan on paying the electric company for services rendered.

Right, just another "sucking off tapayers" project.

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The story sounds completely fabricated.

There is no capability to extract any power from a power line unless there is some type of ground to generate electrical flow.

A person can hang from an 11K line and no harm will come to that person.

So........exactly how is this UAV going to extract power from the line?

Actually, with high voltage AC lines, you can "draw" power off of them without even touching them. The current flowing through them creates an electromagnetic field. Placing a coil of wire within this field will cause a voltage to be induced in that coil. This is the principle that transformers use to vary AC voltages, and that things such as Mercedes crankshaft sensors use to sense position. Though in that case the magnet is moving (mounted to flywheel) and the sensor is only concerned with generating a spike each time the magnet passes it (the ME then counts the spikes to determine speed). In the case noted above the voltage could be used to charge an onboard battery.

Some people believe that this same principle could be used to power electric cars someday. Massive wires buried in the road surface would induce power into pick-up coils in cars passing overhead. If I recall, Toyota was building a stretch of road so equipped in SoCal for research. Cars could run on this electrified highway, and then either on battery or small IC engine when on surface streets. Lane changes would be handled either just by momentum if the vehicle was travelling fast enough, or charged capacitors if it would be out of the field for too long.

MV

Yep, the ole right hand rule...

Current goes in the direction of the thumb and the electromagnetic flux field is in the direction of the fingers. There are huge magnetic fields around transmission lines that could be used for power.

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Bill Wood - Retired Webmaster
My Personal Website
1998 Mercedes E430
2010 Toyota Sequoia
My Photo Albums

That’s some cool stuff, right there. I figured it would be something utilizing the magnetic fields and/or static electricity. I think they can/could do that with today’s technology and little effort.

And I though “Cow Snapping” from a helicopter on wet/foggy mornings was cool.
(Yes – the avionics master switch was “off”.)
(No – I don’t want to hear from the PETA folks here. I was young – It was fun…)

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1980 300D - Veggie Burner !

Zap! that's gotta hurt! What kinda arc distance can you get?

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PREVIOUSLY OWNED:83 300SD, 87 420SEL, 88 420SEL, 90 420SEL, 86 560SEL, 86 190E 2.3-16V AMG, 94 E320

We had two ~15’ old welding cables that were stripped of the last foot or so of insulation. We hung a piece of ~ 4” sq. ¼” thick scrap steel from them to keep them from flying back under the ship too far. Each one hung from the front of the skids on my dad’s old H13 (Bell 47. Think: MASH).

I was busy flying while a friend would watch the poor cow tumble like a running buffalo hit with a 45-70. From what I remember (I was 17, 18 or so), on a good wet day, you could snap one from about 3 to 4 inches off. (studies have shown voltages in the low 6 digit range)

There were two real dangers in this whole stunt. One was flying into the trees. Certain death.

The other was loosing a cable and having your dad find it with the sickle-mower on hay cutting day. Very close to certain death……..Very close.

(After that bust. We moved into blowing ducks back into the water as they tried to take off….That was, until the Game Warden caught us….Now I’m into dropping large quantities of old range balls.) (Someday, I guess I’ll have to grow up.)

Enough of this highjack. I want to know who and how this R/C plane is landed on the wires !!

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1980 300D - Veggie Burner !

My last house had high tension wires running across the back 10 acres. I could go out with a flourescent bulb at night, and it would glow as I got underneath the wires.

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To me…that’s kind of like moving into a haunted house, and the walls telling you to “Get out.”
I’d be moving.

I’m thinking there have been studies done on the effects of that current on folks who live near them.

Some say it’s a bad thing.

Others I guess, get paid off by the power companies….

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1980 300D - Veggie Burner !

http://cr4.globalspec.com/thread/9305/Free-Fluorescent-Lighting