Solar UAV
AtlantikSolar is a state-of-the-art, solar-powered Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), developed at the Autonomous Systems Lab of the ETHZ. As solar-impulse, it relies on an optimized balance of energy from solar-panels and batteries to maximize the flying time. As a result, AtlantikSolar made a continuous and solely solar-powered flight of 81.5 hours and more than 2000 km ground distance in 2015 in Switzerland; to this date, the current flight endurance world record for all aircrafts below 50 Kg.
The continuous sunlight in summer time beyond the Arctic circle provides ideal conditions for AtlantikSolar, however, solar-powered flight under such conditions have never been attempted before.