A US company called LaserMotive has broken the world record for keeping a helicopter aloft, by
powering it with energy from a laser aimed from the ground.
The helicoper's underbelly is covered with photovoltaic panels
that are calibrated to respond to laser light, rather than regular sunlight. The team pointed a
laser at the helicopter (which is actually a quadrocopter) which was then
able to hover at 30 feet for 12 hours, breaking the record that the
company had previously set.
The team reckons that it'll eventually be able to power the
vehicle for 10 or even 20 times the duration that it'd be able to
fly with batteries alone. Tom Nugent, LaserMotive's president, told
the crowd that gathered to observe the flight: "This will
mark our first public display of a free-flying unmanned aerial
vehicle powered by lasers, and represents an important step forward in the future
development of flight."
The research could have applications in the military --
for reconnaissance in dangerous situations or even for autonomous drones. Stripping the battery out of such devices
means they weigh considerably less, so in turn they require less
power to keep in the air.
Here's a quick video of the quadrocopter doing its floaty