Researchers Beam Power From a Moving Airplane

Researchers Beam Power From a Moving Airplane

Researchers from the startup Overview Energy have successfully demonstrated beaming power from a moving airplane to the ground using near-infrared light. It marks the first step toward space-based solar power satellites that could someday transmit energy from orbit to existing solar farms on Earth. ...

Power beamed from a moving aircraft for first time

Aviation has become the proving ground for an emerging energy concept that, until recently, belonged largely to the realm of science fiction. Researchers recently successfully beamed a tiny amount of electrical power from a moving aircraft to receivers on the ground, marking the first time wireless power transmission has been demonstrated from an airborne platform in flight.   The test was conducted over Pennsylvania using a Cessna Caravan singl…

Researchers Beam Wireless Power From a Moving Airplane

On a blustery November day, a Cessna turboprop flew over Pennsylvania at 5,000 meters, in crosswinds of up to 70 knots—nearly as fast as the little plane was flying. But the bumpy conditions didn’t thwart its mission: to wirelessly beam power down to receivers on the ground as it flew by.The test flight marked the first time power has been beamed from a moving aircraft. It was conducted by the Ashburn, Virginia-based startup Overview Energy, whi…