Concept: a cost effective solar powered blimp able to perform extended flights for continuous ground surveillance for orthomosaic topology survey maps, video and security. Fly and forget.
Use cases:
- Automated Orthomosaic maps for farm agriculture
- Remote surveillance
- Check security, fencing, livestock, plants, work progress.
- Near realtime data anytime, with hands-free automated launch and return, auto data downloads.
Requirements:
- Solar powered, rechargeable, inflight
- Extended flight duration
- Cost effective
- Waterproof
- Payload weight: mobile phone, raspberry pi, cameras, speaker, lights, 2 lunchtime sandwiches & cold cokes.
- Camera options
- Survey orthomosaic mapping camera
- FPV or gimbal camera
- 360 camera
- Object detection
- Flir
- Lidr
- Drone flight path and return home
- Auto download of data over wifi or 4G/5G
- Always ready to fly
- Auto take off and return
- MQTT protocol for industry automation and smart home integration
- Mission presets:
- Orthomosaic land map
- Real time video surveillance & transmission
- Delayed remote video surveillance
Research:
Design
Ideas is to
- fill a gliding wing shape, and aircraft body with gas for lift boyancy.
- Able to carry a mobile phone:- as rechargeable battery power, flight control app, camera, data storage, wifi/4g/5g comms,
- Solar panels for recharge