UK Company, University Research Tethered Unmanned Aircraft
Two entities in England are experimenting with tethers to extend the flight times of unmanned aircraft.
A partnership between the University of Southampton and a security firm called Cardinal Security, located in Essex, has found that powered tethers dramatically increase the flight time of a UAS. Using a tether connected to a mobile ground station, the UAS connects to that ground station, and the station provides the UAS with a “constant drip feed of electricity,” giving the UAS its extended flight time. If the fuel tank of the ground station is constantly refilled, then indefinite flight time for a UAS is possible.
Not only does this power source allow for UAS to occupy air space for longer periods of time, but it is also a low cost approach for both military and civilian users.
“All of the battery-powered multi-rotors suffer from poor endurance, so 20-30 minutes is tops,” said Dr. Stephen Prior of the University of Southampton via an article from Reuters. “We can fly, essentially, forever provided we've got fuel in the tank in the fuel generator in the ground station.”
Currently, the tethered UAS is the only one being used in the United Kingdom that has been approved by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to conduct flight work of up to 400 feet, but the University of Southampton and Cardinal Security are looking to extend their outreach.
Companies in the United States and Israel, among others, also have developed tethered drones. One is CyPhy Works, founded by iRobot cofounder Helen Greiner, whose company received an order from the U.S. Army’s Rapid Equipping Force in July for its Persistent Aerial Reconnaissance and Communications, or PARC, unmanned aircraft.
