Wireless Electrification System for Photovoltaic Powered Autonomous Drone Charging

The future is moving toward fully autonomous drone transportation-delivery systems. However, handling the charging of a large number of drones is still a pivotal problem in the drone charging infrastructure. The wired charging or battery-swapping method requires a large number of people or machines moving around the pad, creating obstructions for drones during landing and takeoff. In this article, a novel building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) structure is developed. The proposed system concentrates on wirelessly charging drones on the rooftop of the building and utilizing the wall space for electrification. However, the BIPV panels are subjected to shading effects from upper panels, reduced solar irradiations due to panel inclination, and the effect of temperature from the wall surface reflected solar irradiations. In the proposed experiment, four BIPV panel placements are compared for generating maximum output for the charging station. The proposed system transferred 120 W wirelessly with 88.6% power transfer efficiency at 10 mm vertical displacement (VD). The BIPV concept has the potential to create an autonomous wireless charging environment for multiple drones for high-rise buildings with limited roof area. Furthermore, the article presents an economic analysis for cost-saving and reducing CO2 emissions.