Automotive Engineering - May 2022 - BET21

Extending Battery Life of Small Drones
A built-in wireless electrification line battery charging system to extend flight time and patrol U.S. borders.
University of Houston, TX
A
Larry
continuous flight of small drones
over its perimeter could enhance
security of the nation's border, but
there is one small problem: The battery
limitation of small drones (they last about
30 minutes) is a major obstacle to continuous
flight time.
To address this problem, Gino Lim, R.
(Gerri) R. Snider
and Gerlene
Endowed Chair of Industrial Engineering
proposed the use of drones with a built-in
wireless electrification line (E-line) battery
charging system. Lim pioneered that
technology in 2017.
" Smart border patrol using small-size
drones may provide significant help in
patrolling areas inaccessible to patrol
agents, reduce agent response time, and
increase the safety of patrol agents working
in dangerous regions. To strengthen
border security and reduce the need for
patrolling via human agents, we propose
the use of drones coupled with the use of
E-lines for continuous border surveillance, "
Lim
reported in the journal
Computers & Industrial Engineering. The
paper's first author is Navid Ahmadian, a
former doctoral student in Lim's lab.
The E-line system charges the drones
during their surveillance, enables a continuous
and seamless flight over the
border and eliminates the need for battery
charging stations. Continuous monitoring
sends live information about different
locations of the borderline to the
designated control centers, helping enThe
battery limitation of small drones is a major obstacle to continuous flight time. (Photo:
University of Houston)
hance border security and reducing the
necessity of systems operated by people.
" This work provides an optimization
model to determine the optimal number
of drones, the optimal length of the
E-line, and the optimal location of the
E-line system required for border surveillance, "
said Lim.
In developing their model, the team
reviewed a case study of a segment of the
U.S.-Mexico borderline spanning 22.8
miles and located between two border
crossings within the Cochise County limits
in Arizona.
Although drones have been the subject
of many studies, few studies have focused
on the implementation of the drone for
continuous border surveillance.
In previous work Lim provided a template
for drone routes targeting chronic
patients in rural areas to assist in medicine
delivery via drone.
For more information, contact Laurie Fickman
at lafickman@uh.edu; 713-743-8454.
Micro-Supercapacitors Enable Fast Charging
The supercapacitors are so small that they can fit on the system circuits which control various functions in
almost all electronics.
Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden
M
icro-supercapacitors could revolutionize
the way we use batteries by
increasing their lifespan and enabling
extremely fast charging. Now, researchers
at Chalmers University of
Technology have developed a method
Battery & Electrification Technology, May 2022
that represents a breakthrough for how
such supercapacitors can be produced.
Supercapacitors consist of two electrical
conductors separated by an insulating
layer. They can store electrical energy and
have many positive properties compared
to a normal battery, such as much more
rapid charging, more efficient energy distribution,
and a much greater lifespan
without loss of performance, with regards
to the charge and discharge cycle. When
a supercapacitor is combined with a bat21

Automotive Engineering - May 2022

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