The problem is surmountable in narrow cases in a quite easy, if for some reason non-obvious, way: ditch the battery and plug it in to AC power. This would also give it extra carrying capacity, bringing it up to, say, to 10kg. Now this still isn't much, and it would be compromising stability a bit (especially outdoors) due to reduced inertia, but I can think of couple narrow applications:
- Actually carry stuff up the stairs. Sure, lifts and wheelchair lifts already exist, but not everywhere. If the proliferation of cars over the last century taught us anything, it's that worse solutions that require less or zero construction changes on-site win. Classic "worse is better".
- Ferry light cargo across long but thin stretches of impassable terrain. Think military or EMTs moving supplies back and forth over a river, construction crew moving small stuff up the steep mountainside. Sure, there exist solutions for this already, but they're bulkier and more expensive to set up; for the drone, all you need is a generator and a long power cable.
(Yes, I'm stretching credulity here a bit. Yes, this particular product makes little sense as-is, but the idea of a stabilized drone platform isn't, in general, entirely bad.)
Side question: what if they replaced the batteries and electric motors with gas tanks and an ICE? Maybe that could give it more useful carrying capacity, at the expense of noise and being unsexy to modern environmental sensibilities.
I know. Specifically, I reinvented gasoline-powered model RC helicopters, that were all the rage before battery-powered quadcopters became a thing, and scaled them up. I.e. I don't recall anyone trying a "palletrone"-like thing with an ICE-based platform, despite the tech for it being mature for like 50 years or so.
> I.e. I don't recall anyone trying a "palletrone"-like thing with an ICE-based platform, despite the tech for it being mature for like 50 years or so.
You need far greater reaction speeds for a viable quadcopter to remain stable than an ICE, much less a turbojet engine, is capable of.
There has been some project featured on here, I think it was a single-prop chopper, kept hovering and centered just by minutely controlling exactly when torque was created by the motor. Absolutely f..ing nuts.
> I think it was a single-prop chopper, kept hovering and centered just by minutely controlling exactly when torque was created by the motor. Absolutely f..ing nuts.
I recall a video of someone sticking a RC chopper rotor to a fixed-wing model aircraft and turning it into a thrust vectoring propeller with software, giving the plane ability to pull some unique acrobatics.
> You need far greater reaction speeds for a viable quadcopter to remain stable than an ICE, much less a turbojet engine, is capable of.
You can split the problem in two: use ICE to generate thrust, vector it with passive elements on fast-reacting electric servos. Or, you can retain all the electric hardware, but replace the battery with an ICE generator and a gas tank - the main problem here is reducing weight, and gasoline has much better energy density than batteries.
You'll enjoy the stick with a double blade prop on each end, using sub-revolution speed control to do it's thrust vectoring.
The second prop is only needed to counter torque, btw.
Dragging a power cable up and down stairs? Cables are heavy and they snag on stuff. If you ever do a mobile robot project with a tether you quickly discover these are their primary properties.
- Actually carry stuff up the stairs. Sure, lifts and wheelchair lifts already exist, but not everywhere. If the proliferation of cars over the last century taught us anything, it's that worse solutions that require less or zero construction changes on-site win. Classic "worse is better".
- Ferry light cargo across long but thin stretches of impassable terrain. Think military or EMTs moving supplies back and forth over a river, construction crew moving small stuff up the steep mountainside. Sure, there exist solutions for this already, but they're bulkier and more expensive to set up; for the drone, all you need is a generator and a long power cable.
(Yes, I'm stretching credulity here a bit. Yes, this particular product makes little sense as-is, but the idea of a stabilized drone platform isn't, in general, entirely bad.)
Side question: what if they replaced the batteries and electric motors with gas tanks and an ICE? Maybe that could give it more useful carrying capacity, at the expense of noise and being unsexy to modern environmental sensibilities.