3 ms·

I imagine that billing for the electricity usage will be the power company’s distant second concern behind the mechanical stress of hanging unauthorized devices

• wanderingstan 3y ago
  As mentioned in another comment, these cables are designed to handle orders of magnitude more stress than a drone. (Think wind storms, entire flocks of birds, blown debris, etc) For example, See this video of how wires are inspected by humans crawling along them: https://youtu.be/oBJyyEAw-6g?si=QVqBgjqwlM4XCGKl https://youtu.be/oBJyyEAw-6g?si=QVqBgjqwlM4XCGKl
  • schiffern 3y ago
    If anything, this offers utility operators a massive new revenue opportunity. Drone fleets could pay to "perch" and recharge (giving unlimited range and ubiquitous charging), all just by reusing existing infrastructure. No need for a massive new infrastructure buildout, and "nothing left to take away" design. Big future for whoever can successfully commercialize this.
    • nottorp 3y ago
      Massive? Comparing to carrying high currents around, not so sure charging drones for a few watts would even make sense for a company that runs those power lines. Of course they could create a sophisticated billing system, invest tens of millions in branding and marketing and then end up in the red for that particular operation.
      • ansgri 3y ago
        Simply charge a fixed sum for a time-limited license to perch within a specific region. Should also include some insurance.
      • schiffern 3y ago
        Don't be confused by the watts-to-watts comparison. Drone fleet operators would be paying more for ubiquitous access to drone parking on (presumably inspected and pre-approved segments of) powerlines. The energy supply is almost an ancillary service, but an important one. Just like with EV charging today, the energy cost will presumably be higher than your household bill, or similar billing schemes. "The house always wins."
    • reaperman 3y ago
      How would power companies prevent someone from freeloading?
  • JKCalhoun 3y ago
    Definitely looks like a new idea that will have some fetching about for a reason for it to be illegal.
    • freeone3000 3y ago
      You are quite literally stealing electricity. It is not that far of a reach.
  • enva2712 3y ago
    But are they designed to carry those loads with a drone flock. They’ll also increase the received wind load. Unlikely to cause an issue but you still have to do the math to determine the decrease to the margin of safety
  • Etherlord87 3y ago
    It's not that simple: just because you add a safety margin on a construction element, doesn't mean you're allowed to use this safety margin. For example if a chain has a certified Weight Limit Load of 1 T, it means it actually lifted 4 T (or 10 T if it's certified to lift people). This is because a lifting sling is tested in very controllable environment when it's new, whereas on a building site it will be subject to dynamical stress caused by winds, it will be hit, it will be used in various temperatures etc. Now, I'm not saying you're wrong: in case of power cables there might not be such a rigidly defined safety margin in law, and experts may figure out some assumptions, like the drones not operating during wind storms, in which the safety margin is more than needed - and therefore there's some spare capacity BEFORE the the actually needed safety margin.
• InsomniacL 3y ago
  The cost of the electricity provided is negligible compared to the value of providing such a readily accessible and geographically available changing network. I wouldn't be surprised if the metered cost of the electricity itself isn't even factored in to the bill when charging for the service. As others said, I don't think the added weight of a drone would be a concern but i have no experience here.