The research team of Beihang University has successfully developed a solar powered micro drone weighing only 4.21 grams using a newly developed electrostatic motor, achieving continuous flight under pure natural light supply. The relevant results were published in the international academic journal Nature on July 18th. Solar powered large-scale drone flight is not a new phenomenon, but how to use solar energy to drive micro drones has always been a challenge in the industry. Currently, traditional electromagnetic motors are commonly used as engine components in unmanned aerial vehicles. For micro unmanned aerial vehicles, the electromagnetic motors increase in speed and heat generation after miniaturization, resulting in a sharp decrease in energy conversion rate. At the same time, due to the inability of the body to withstand large areas of solar panels, it cannot fly. Professor Qi Mingjing from the School of Energy and Power Engineering at Beihang University introduced that the team has innovatively proposed a new electrostatic drive scheme, developed a micro electrostatic motor with low speed, low heat generation, and high efficiency, and realized the takeoff and continuous flight of micro air vehicles under pure natural light supply. Solar powered micro drones can achieve long endurance flight, and after further development, they are expected to be applied in emergency rescue, narrow space detection and other scenarios Professor Yan Xiaojun from the School of Energy and Power Engineering at Beihang University said. (New Society)