Energy Harvesting Techniques for Hybrid Amphibious Drones in the Marine Environment

Amphibious drones face persistent endurance, and power supply challenges greatly limiting their extended operational capabilities due to typical size constraints. This paper proposes various methods of energy harvesting for amphibious drones intending to reduce the total power consumption to improve flight efficiency. To accomplish this, one method is to employ dynamic and thermal soaring with the drone taking advantage of the shear winds and heat fluxes from the ocean. Alternatively, flexible solar panels can be installed on the surface of the wing to harvest solar energy both in-flight and when at an idle state. Finally, electromagnetic coils can be integrated into the aerial drone to harvest energy from the experienced wave motion while it idles on the surface of the water.