I wonder why we still don’t see autonomous drones that could lead an “eternal” life: landing on roofs, deploying solar panels, charging from the sun, and taking off once a day for whatever their mission might be? When you consider the energy aspects, it seems like a feasible scheme. For instance, a heavy drone weighing about 8 kg could carry foldable solar panels with an area of 1.5 m² and a battery with a capacity of 2 kWh. In one sunny day, such panels could collect about 1.2 kWh of energy — enough for it to fly for 20 minutes at a speed of 40–50 km/h, take photos, and transmit them via the mobile network. And there would still be a reserve of energy for several cloudy days.
Even a light drone weighing 2 kg with small panels (0.5 m²) could rise into the air for 10–15 minutes every day if it managed to find good weather and a sunny roof. The power required for hovering for such devices is about 150–200 W, and solar panels with 20% efficiency at mid-latitudes can produce up to 350–400 Wh per day. The balance comfortably adds up, especially if not chasing speed and if there’s no rush on the roof.
Such a “solar nomad” could live for weeks and months, flying from roof to roof and charging in anticipation of missions. At first glance, the technology of batteries and panels already allows this to be done. Or am I missing something?
Hi, I'm Rauf Aliev. 