"KiteX" which realizes good wind power generation of COSPA by combining drones and kites

Cost-effective combination of drone and kite (kite)Wind turbineIt is "building"KiteX"is.

KiteX
http://kitex.tech/

KiteX is developing a new type of wind turbine that automatically controls flying wings connected to the ground by using drone technology. This new type of wind turbine "Airbone Wind Turbine (AWT)" has the advantage that energy can be generated using some of the materials required for conventional wind turbines.


Wind turbines have low energy costs and low environmental impact, making them a preferred choice for building new power plants. And KiteX aims to reduce energy costs further than usual wind turbines and other renewable energy by incorporating wind energy using the kite.

The amount of energy that can be drawn from the wind is roughly proportional to "the swept area (for example, in the case of a wind turbine, the area covered by rotating blades)". Using a drone type kite connected to a transmission line extending from the ground eliminates the need to build a huge support structure like a wind turbine while having the same sweep area as the wing of a conventional wind turbine, KiteX's idea is that it can be drastically reduced.


Kite has been used to apply wind force when lifting people and pulling baggage from long ago. Even now there are wind farms using kites but most of them require relatively sophisticated computer control systems. And with the decrease in computing power cost, using the kite for wind power generation is becoming a far more feasible approach than it was ten years ago.

In KiteX, we first developed a control system for autonomously guiding the kite along a predetermined route. The following movie is a picture of how the kite was successfully guided using the control system.

Kite On Its Own Succesful Flight - YouTube


After that, we started to create a prototype version kite that can freely fly in the sky using drone technology. In the flight test also the accident that the kite crashes.


While repeating trial and error, the kite gradually gets refined.


Innality payrence twainality closed twalityality payrence twainality payrence twainality payrence twainality payrence payrence twain payrence payrence twain payrence payrence The twi payrence closed 040 04040 04040 04040 04040 0

2017 03 01 SuperQ FirstTetheredFlight - YouTube


Subsequently, we also conducted outdoor hover flight tests. It is like a dronoon that is flying, but this will play the role of kite in AWT. Commands related to the flight position are transmitted from the control software running on the PC and the flight is controlled so that the tension of the transmission line connected to the kite becomes constant.

Position Control Tethered Hover - YouTube


And two kites are completed.


In addition, we succeeded in strengthening the transition algorithm. The kite will be able to fly in hovering in the wind.

Improved kite VTOL transition - YouTube


After that, the physical computation simulator "AKT system" "Kite Energy Simulator" was released, simulation to actually kite the kite ... ...

Kitesim (kitex.tech)


After that, we succeeded in actually turning the sky using the prototype kite.

Successful autonomous looping - KiteX Kite Energy - YouTube


At KiteX, development of a drone capable of takeoff and landing is being promoted, after that, we will challenge to actually generate power while flying in the sky and eventually scales up the power generation system to a level that can be used commercially It is.