UAVs have come of age and in the long tenure of their makes and usage we have seen their potential and diversity. DIY efforts have been commanding with respect to UAVs and here again to keep in the ranks, Dan Edwards, a student at the North Carolina State University, has developed an autonomous UAV with that he intends to use to set records for staying aloft.
In his endeavor to fame, Dan wishes to glide his created project the ALOFT on a 142-mile cross country and on a non-human interference ride of a 25 miles (with return of course). Using thermals to increase time aloft, the ALOFT is without a motor, which adds to the peculiarity of the plane.
The vehicle has already been tested for autonomous flying over the desert, where Dan’s craft flew for 4.5 hours, covering 70.5 miles using only air currents to stay aloft. With the ALOFT managing the feat all by itself, we sense an opening for a new record of in-air time spent by an autonomous plane and a platform for modernization of UAVs.
Via: Slashdot
