A student pursuing PhD studies at Queensland University of Technology has designed an unmanned aerial vehicle that will be powered by wind or solar energy. Wesam Al Sabban, the creator of the UAV, explained that the UAV, named as the Green Falcon II, will tap wind power to move similar to the movement of a bird.
bird like UAV
He added that he derived inspiration for the design from topics which were part of his PhD curriculum. The UAV was capable of providing forecasts of solar intensity with the help of artificial intelligence and was capable of using wind patterns for planning its flying path. Al Sabban further added that after completion the UAV will fly like a bird and it will be a cheaper affair to operate it when compared to small UAVs in the market.
Even before he completed the final design of the UAV, Al Sabban won three awards at the 63rdiENA International Trade Fair held in Germany. He won the gold medal as an independent inventor, a certificate from the International Federation of Inventors Association and an honorary Genius Prize from the Association of Hungarian Inventors. His UAV design competed with more than 750 other designs submitted from participants from 30 countries. Some of the other significant inventions were suitcase on wheels and a folding bicycle. An Aerospace and Avionics lecturer at the Australian Research Center pointed out that the UAV will be a zero-emission system, which was capable of operating round the clock. He added that it could be used in applications such as power line inspection and three-dimensional mine mapping .
Source: http://www.qut.edu.au/