by DRONELIFE Staff Author Ian J. McNabb
Sendai-based Tohoku University’s Tough Cyber-Physical AI Research Center recently announced that their patented multi-drone landing technology “EAGLES Port”, (which stands for Efficient Aerial vehicle Guide with Landing Loading Leaving Enabling Systematic Port, significantly improved landing in wind-tunnel testing on the Fukushima Robot Test Field, demonstrating the effectiveness of this revolutionary horizontal drone landing method.
Versus the more common vertical landing method, (higher generally known as VTOL, or vertical takeoff and landing), EAGLES Port utilizes a horizontal approach via a dockable hanger that slides onto a rail, allowing UAVs to take care of their flight momentum and making them significantly more proof against antagonistic atmospheric conditions. Drones fly right into a slot, allowing them to “cut through” the wind, whereas many vertical drones are buffeted around and might struggle to land cleanly in less-advantageous weather.
The brand new system’s advantages are clear- compared to vertical landings, EAGLES Port landings were roughly 35% faster, and multiple drones could land concurrently even on a single unit, greatly decreasing the required landing zone. While this type of technological development won’t grow to be an industry standard for individual drone units, on account of its increased infrastructure complexity, many currently docked drones getting used in a swarm configuration may profit from access to a more efficient landing method, increasing the potential range of conditions that drones can operate in while also serving as a space-saver for fleet applications corresponding to drone signage or in a security environment.
Indeed, the initial proposal, released in 2020, theorizes that drone landings could eventually be as much as 7.5x more efficient via an EAGLES Port than traditional VTOL methods. The system utilizes a cone-shaped entry gate that the drone, (featuring a top-mounted hanger), goals for, which funnels the hanger right into a rail that the drone can then move along, potentially aiding delivery operations. In comparison with many existing docking solutions, it’s significantly cheaper and easier to put in, increasing its scalability and viability to handle growing volumes of UAV traffic.
The press release, announcing the outcomes, is on the market here (in Japanese).
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