Laser beam keeps robo-plane buzzing for two days straight

[ALS]

A ground-to-air recharging system like this allows us to provide practically unlimited flight endurance to extend and expand the mission profiles that the Stalker vehicle can fulfill."

Alan Boyle - MSNBC - July 14, 2012

LaserMotive has demonstrated a power system that can keep Lockheed Martin's Stalker unmanned aerial vehicle going for more than 48 hours with laser light — but that's not the most amazing part. What's even more amazing is that the drone could have stayed in operation basically indefinitely, feeding off those frickin' laser beams.

"We've demonstrated to ourselves, and to our partners, that the technology works," LaserMotive President Tom Nugent told me last night. "Our Lockheed Martin Skunk Works partners realize how valuable wireless power via laser will be to the future of aerospace."

Nugent said the June 25-27 test, conducted at LaserMotive's headquarters facility in Kent, Wash., was done with the Stalker mounted inside a wind tunnel. But it won't be long before the kind of laser-beaming power that Dr. Evil could only dream about will be put to the test under real-world conditions.

... [Read More]

[herm]

You could also refuel cars on the hwy with this.. and the laser can also be used for other things if you misbehave.

[xcel]

Hi Al:

A little to much pie-in-the-sky from this early on stage of development. The wind tunnel is a long way from the real world. I do hope the tech has legs but it seems like a long way off.

Waynet

[Right Lane Cruiser]

Who is Waynet?

[xcel]

Hi Sean:

The guy typing on a 4.3" Motorola Droid RAZR MAXX smartphone

Wayne

[EdwinTheMagnificent]

I like my old-fashioned desktop computer with large keyboard,large monitor and responsive optical mouse.