Deliverable #1
Batteries are usually an afterthought in technology and robotics. Engineers and scientists make a design, then determine the power needs, and finally just attach a battery.
Increasingly, robots and UAVs have been designed to carry more sophisticated equipment which also increases the power demands. Traditional battery packs have been primarily used to provide the added power requirements. The additional batteries increase the overall weight of the system and limit the functionality of the systems. On another front, bendable, shape-conformable batteries have been developed in recent years so that the package is not restricted to rigid cylindrical or rectangular shapes. Therefore, it is desired to borrow this idea to develop conformably-shaped batteries such that they could be integrated into the body of the system. For example, they could be the legs of the robots and/or the wings of an UAV system. This way, they will serve dual purposes of being both the power supply as well as other functional components for the overall systems.
Batteries are usually an afterthought in technology and robotics. Engineers and scientists make a design, then determine the power needs, and finally just attach a battery.
The main objective of this project is to design a battery that can be integrated in to the wing of a UAV system. The battery can form around the wing, make up the wing, or fit inside the wing.