CONCEPT OF MODULAR, SELF-SUPPORTING
CABLE FOR POWERING THE HOVERING
UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE
Ivan Tukarić1 and Received: 31st January 2020. ABSTRACT Hovering unmanned aerial vehicles or drones can function as distant platforms for mounted sensors,
as signal transceivers, or for other purposes. However, they must be tethered. The tether functions as a power cable that connects
a tethered drone with a ground power unit. In this article, we developed a concept in which a power cable is of modular structure,
consisting of mutually identical modules. Each module has motorised propellers and is capable of preserving itself in a given,
hovering position. We formulated an equation for electric current that, for a given set of parameters, makes hovering of a drone
with such a modular cable possible. The developed concept does not show significant improvement in maximum height reached by the
drone. The underlying causes are extracted from a set of assumptions that define the concept. KEY WORDS CLASSIFICATION
Josip Stepanić2
1c/o University of Zagreb - Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture
Zagreb, Croatia
2University of Zagreb - Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture
Zagreb, Croatia
INDECS 18(2-A), 166-174, 2020
DOI 10.7906/indecs.18.2.7
Full text available here.
Accepted: 15th April 2020.
Regular article
unmanned aerial vehicles, tethered flying vehicle, modular cable, hovering
JEL: Q49
PACS: 87.19.lu