Introduction

The technology consists of a landing gear for aircraft, in particular for electric aircraft with vertical take-off such as drones, which in addition to having a structural support function can be used for additional features, such as charging the batteries of the aircraft by cable (wired) or wireless.

Technical features

At present, the factor that limits a wider use of drones is the low battery life, which allows short flight times. When the drone lands for recharging, human intervention is required to connect the electrical cable for recharging or to replace the discharged battery. The solution to this problem consists of an automatic charging station, where the drone lands autonomously, charges the battery and continues its mission. This solution is particularly useful where an autonomous and continuous use of the drone is required: with a fleet of drones you can realize a service 24 h/d – 365 days per year for control, monitoring and surveillance remotely.

Possible Applications

• Wired/wireless power and charging system for drones batteries;
• Component of an electromagnetic launcher to facilitate take-off and landing of the drone;
• Receiving antenna for energy harvesting applications from low and high frequency electromagnetic fields.

Advantages

• On-board batteries can be recharged without human intervention;
• Reduction of weight and encumbrance of the equipment used for recharging;
• Increased flying range;
• Possibility of using the same trolley as a component to facilitate aircraft take-off;
• The trolley can also be used as a radio frequency (RF) field receiver or as a low frequency field receiver coil/suctioner to pick up electromagnetic energy from external sources.