Battery life has always been the issue for drones. No matter how big, small, fast, or technologically equipped they are, their flight always depends on their battery. Recreational drones for example have a horrible track record when it comes to their flight times. The higher-end ones that cost around the $1000-mark tend to last about 30 minutes in the air. The smaller, cheaper ones can barely make it to 10 minutes. After that, you have to charge an inordinate amount of time to get it ready for flight again. It can be quite the frustrating experience, with little time for fun and more time spent at the socket.
The Ultimate Battery Drone
That may all change soon, as the company Impossible Aerospace may have the solution. Recently, they unveiled their plans for a quadcopter that promises to last for up to two hours with a single charge. How is that possible, you ask? Well, the minds at Impossible Aerospace created a design that takes the ‘battery’ aspect of the drone as top priority. The US-1 Drone’s design is simple; the drone’s entire body contains batteries. The batteries are heavily-packed inside, leaving little room for anything else.
In its essence, it is basically a case full of batteries attached to rotors. This gives more battery capacity and more flight time. It offers 2 hours of continuous flight, or if it carries a package (up to 1.3 kg), it can go 78 minutes. It is a lot heavier (total of 7 kilograms) than drones its size, but that is to be expected because of the design. What you exchange for lightweight structure is a power source that can last four times longer than the competition.
What use can a drone with long flight time be? For your recreational drone users, maybe not that much. Sure, you can fly longer, but aimlessly soaring through the area may sound too boring soon enough. What the US-1 drone can do is help in official business, such as responding in fire or police cases. In these situations, battery life can be the main difference in the field. A functional drone can provide an extra set of eyes from the sky, giving the responders more information.
Another use would be for delivery services. This way, drones have a longer range, which can reach more people for deliveries. The possibilities are endless. But it may yet to show up in daily activities, as one unit can cost up to $7500 a piece.
