DARPA looking for construction material made of solar cells
What if there was a material made of solar cells but which would be strong and flexible enough to be used for making planes and cars? There would be no need for an engine — or for batteries, as the material would generate and store power
DARPA is looking for what it calls “Power Skin” — which would “harvest” energy from its surroundings and also be strong enough to make robots out of. The Power Skin is to be a “lightweight structural material that provides its own day and night power…essentially a thin monolithic sheet…to be used as an independent power source and, simultaneously, serve as the structural material to build lightweight platforms such as UAVs and other robots.”
According to the research agency,
The objectives of the “Power Skin” concept are three-fold:
- Day/Night energy harvesting from the environment
- Energy storage and recharge capabilities
- Integration of the harvesting and storing components into thin sheets and/or on a thin lightweight backing material for structural integrity
As a notional scenario, the “Power Skin” development can be framed as power material to be used in small UAVs to demonstrate continuous flight for four days. The ultimate goal is to develop a technology that will enable indefinite flight endurance.
Lewis Page writes that DARPA seems to be inspired here by prototypes for solar-powered UAVs, able to store enough power during sunlight to keep flying through the hours of darkness. The agency is already seeking to build more capable, larger versions able to stay airborne for years at a stretch, even in polar regions.
Building such aircraft would be easier if their airframe structure generated and stored electric power itself, rather than requiring separate solar cells and batteries.
