Kind of like smartphones, drones at the moment are still relatively new which also means that battery life on these devices aren’t particularly great either. We’re sure that over time, drone makers will figure out a way to create and embed better and longer-lasting batteries, but until then, we guess you’ll just have to keep an eye out on those battery levels.
That being said, wouldn’t it be awesome if our drones could charge itself without ever having to come down? Well the good news for drone enthusiasts is that Boeing might have something for you. It has recently been discovered that Boeing filed for a patent that describes a system in which drones could be charged mid-air, meaning that in theory these drones could pretty much keep flying forever.
How does this work? Well according to the patent that was awarded to inventors James Childress and John Viniotis, this will require the drones to be equipped with tethers that can connect with ground-based power supplies while they are still airborne, ultimately helping them to recharge their batteries while on the move.
The downside is that this would require cities/areas to be equipped with these power supplies all over the place in order for this to function properly. Of course given that it is a patent, there’s no telling if this would be made a reality and it does sound like more work needs to be done on it, but it sounds like it could be a good idea especially if drone deliveries are to be made a reality.