{"id":1450,"date":"2019-12-11T12:12:07","date_gmt":"2019-12-11T12:12:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dronesvilla.com\/?p=1450"},"modified":"2021-12-08T16:02:04","modified_gmt":"2021-12-08T16:02:04","slug":"drones-without-propellers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dronesvilla.com\/drones-without-propellers\/","title":{"rendered":"Can Drones Work Without Propellers?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"\/<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

What is the one detail you expect to see when you hear about\nconsumer drones?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Propellers!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first time you see them, drones remind you of helicopters; and that is because of their rotors (or propellers).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Propellers are the ultimate iconic detail of drones in our collective consciousness, and this is also how they achieve their vertical lift-off and directional flying abilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One could even say it is the most important part of the drone. And it\u2019s most vulnerable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How many times have we seen a propeller snag a tree branch<\/a> after which the drone plummeted to the ground? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In other instances, the drone ends up flailing around with no direction, defying your flight commands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To counter this problem, some manufacturers install\npropeller guards. Some of the more advanced models come with obstacle avoidance\nsystems and collision avoidance technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All these help to keep a drone\u2019s propellers free from\ngetting tangled up. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And they work to varying degrees of success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But what about taking out the propellers all together?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can Drones Work Without Propellers?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A student at the Royal College of Art, Marcus Kung, has taken an approach to design a drone that may prove the most creative solution against propeller entanglement so far. His drone ditches propellers altogether.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How does this drone work without propellers?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marcus Kung\u2019s Impeller Drone<\/em> uses centrifugal fans or impellers in place of axial fans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Centrifugal fans are the sort you would come across in leaf\nblowers and hair dryers. They pull air from the back. But instead of pushing\nthe air out through the front like a regular fan, they push the air out\nsideways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The centrifugal fans in the Impeller Drone are arranged in\nsuch a way that they are like the wheels on a car.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The air is pulled from the sides, and pushed downwards. The\ndesign of the cover around the fans make this possible by directing the\nair-flow where it needs to go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cover also protects the impeller from coming in contact\nwith anything outside, protecting the air inlet formed inside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The advantages of this impeller setup are not hard to see.\nYour drone is much safer from object collision and irreversible damage to\nimportant components.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The protective housing around the impeller also allows the\nair to be pushed more forcibly through the outlet. This means the drone flies higher\nwith lesser power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The one disadvantage nobody can escape, though, is the noise that will be made when the drone operates. It\u2019s the same situation as when you switch on your leaf blower, so no surprises there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Science Behind\nDrones That Don\u2019t Use Propellers<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

So now we know a drone need not necessarily have a propeller\nto fly. To understand how this is possible, we need to understand how drones fly\nin the first place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Does a Drone Fly?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Drones are lightweight aircrafts that are unmanned and capable\nof flying at high altitudes, and usually, though not always, they are directed\nwith a remote control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, the motors and propellers are responsible for getting\nthe drone to the lofty heights it can reach. And these usually come in pairs\neven though some drones come with 3 or fewer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why Propellers?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

It is easy to underestimate the role which propellers play\nin ensuring your drone does not crash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the case of helicopters, they need at least 2 propellers,\nand these have to be mounted strategically to prevent a crash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likewise, a drone needs at least two propellers to operate smoothly, otherwise, a tail prop needs to be in place. Usually they’ll have four, hence the quadcopter <\/em>name that most drones go by.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each propeller on your drone spins in a direction opposite to\nthe propeller it is paired with. This keeps the drone steady up in the air and\nmaintains a manageable speed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, in the case where you have 2 propellers, you can expect\none propeller to spin in a clockwise direction while the other spins anti-clockwise.\nIn the case of a quadcopter you can expect to see two propellers spinning\nclockwise, while the other two spin anti-clockwise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What role does the motor play in all this?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The propellers spin because the motors they are attached to\nspin. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This causes a downward displacement of wind. The force of\nthe wind blowing downwards is able to push the aircraft upwards since according\nto the laws of physics, for every force in any direction, there is an equal\nforce pushing in the opposite direction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is how the lift force is created that takes your drone\nto the heights you love to fly it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When flying your drone at these heights, you are able to\ncontrol its direction thanks to the propellers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In order to cause your drone to descend, all you have to do\nis slow down the motors which will cause the propellers to slow down as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This slowing down means less wind will be sent downwards and\nthe lift force of the drone will become less powerful than the gravitational\nforces pulling it down. This causes the drone to descend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this manner, a drone\u2019s propellers and motors are\nabsolutely crucial to its flight and control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Does the Material and\nDesign of Propellers Matter?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The material, design, and even length of propellers matter,\nand have a direct impact on the way a drone flies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The propellers of high-performing drones are not just\nmanufactured on a whim. Much thought is put into this part of the drone because\nmanufacturers understand the impact of these factors on performance and flight.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, you may realize that some propellers are made of hard fiberglass such as those on the Phantom 4. Other propellers are made of carbon fiber like those on the industrial Matrice 600. These materials are all chosen for their high-performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As for design, that is usually decided after a lot of modeling\nand simulations have been carried out to ensure aerodynamic efficiency and maximum\nthrust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Role of\nManufacturing<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The manufacturing process is designed to ensure the highest\nquality propellers are produced for enhanced performance of the drone during\nflight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Uniformity and quality control are enforced by using\ninjection molds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each propeller must be perfectly balanced with the others,\nand still be dynamic enough to function freely. This is essential for peak\nperformance during flight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The vibration control is also smoothened out during the\nmanufacturing process to ensure minimum vibration when the drone is operating.\nThis ensures that image and video quality is not compromised during flight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The importance of proper manufacturing really comes to the\nfore when the drone has to fly during harsh weather. For example, some drones\nare specifically made for rigorous tasks like chasing tornadoes and other\nnatural weather conditions, providing live coverage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Drones Operating\nWithout Propellers<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

We have already seen one drone design that exists without\nthe use of propellers. That is Marcus Kung\u2019s Impeller Drone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But what about a drone that operates without blades at all?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A bladeless<\/em> drone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Is a Bladeless\nDrone?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The bladeless drone was designed by Edgar Herrera, and was featured in Yanko Design<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The technology behind this drone uses propellers, but has no\nneed for the blades for drone flights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This aerodynamic design is similar to how modern airplanes\nare designed, but with a somewhat different body.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The main body is equipped with a large air duct which helps\nin ascending and descending.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The air utilization happens through the internal ducts.\nSmaller propellers on each side of the body suck the air through the four\nintake valves, which is then directed towards helping the drone ascend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the drone is in the air, the three smaller propellers\nare used to generate downward flow that keeps the device afloat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As you can imagine, the absence of blades means this drone\nmakes much less noise than you would normally associate with a drone. Noise\npollution could really be mitigated should this design ever become widespread\namong hobbyists and commercial drone pilots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Militarily, it would also enhance the stealth ability of\ndrones that are sent to infiltrate hostile territory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For his design, Edgar Herrera earned an international award\nfor concept design, the Red Dot Award. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the technology has yet to be incorporated into any\ndrones being used today. Until that situation changes, you can expect to keep\nseeing drones that remind you of helicopters because of their propeller blades.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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