by Scott Kesselman



Alta Devices and Airware have announced they will cooperate to enable manufacturers of small unmanned aerial systems to integrate solar power onto aircraft to increase flight endurance.



Alta’s AnyLight cells hold the world record for solar efficiency and can increase flight time fourfold. Some setups are capable of flying all day without stopping or charging, according to a company press release.



Airware offers hardware, software and cloud services for the rapid development of commercial UAS.



“Our customers regularly ask for ways to achieve longer endurance on small UAVs,” says Airware Vice President of Product Don Weigel.



“For precision agriculture, search and rescue or land surveying, UAVs need to fly longer and farther than today’s systems provide,” says Rich Kapusta, vice president of sales and marketing for Alta. “The most effective way to increase endurance is by adding solar, and Airware and Alta devices are making that possible.”