Drones are great until you realize running all those propellers, a camera, GPS and other assorted technology bits are a real drain on the battery. If you’re just using one for images it’s not too big of a deal. But if you’re using one for surveying, security or delivering burritos, swapping out batteries all the time can be a huge pain and time suck. Fortunately, there’s a new wireless charging landing pad on its way.
The WiBotic PowerPad is a three-foot by three-foot landing station that comes with an onboard charger that can be attached to pretty much any drone according to the company. The company says the weather-resistant platform can be mounted pretty much anywhere and can help alleviate the need to handle drones that run automated flights on a regular basis.
The PowerPad also can serve as a waypoint for long-distance flights. If a drone needs to survey a large plot of land, it can stop and recharge at regular intervals on distributed platforms. No word on pricing or when the pad will be available, but there are sure to more than a few companies interested in reducing the time they spend swapping batteries while gathering data about battery health in the drones they have deployed.
WiBotic PowerPad for Drones from WiBotic Inc. on Vimeo.
Via: Geek Wire
Source: WiBotic
