I-Corps: Photophoretically levitating platforms for atmospheric sensing and communications

这个i-Corps项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发轻型大气平台，这种平台不需要移动部件或机载动力来发射对气候研究、电信和国家安全有用的有效载荷。目前，常规飞行器必须携带燃料或电池，这限制了它们分配给应用的有效载荷能力。建议的技术可以配备不同大气特性(例如，压力、温度)的传感器，这些特性是气候变化和地表天气的关键指标。这些设备可能是气候研究人员以及实际监测和缓解全球变暖的宝贵工具。这些设备的类似用途可能会有利于火星的探索。商业和国防通信需要更高的带宽和更多种类的无人机(UAV)。军方尤其需要隐蔽和安全的数据传输路径。这些设备可用作电信网络、敏感信息的中继点和/或微型传感器和摄像机的平台。因此，部署这项技术可以促进国家安全，防止技术出其不意。这个i-Corps项目是基于超轻型设备的开发，这种设备可以在没有机载动力或移动部件的情况下，在地球和火星的大气层中无限期地自我悬浮。所提出的装置是由超薄的纳米级结构制成的，通过光电性悬浮产生放样。这种被动的机制将太阳的辐射能转化为气体流过这些结构，产生推力。这些设备的架构允许它们的大部分有效载荷能力分配给各种应用，这比必须携带燃料或电池的传统飞行器具有优势。每个设备在地球中间层的有效载荷能力将为100毫克，足以在地面上的一个固定点上保持站位的同时，将电信和遥感硬件送入太空。放样设备阵列旨在相互连接，以实现大于单个设备总和的数据速率。对支撑这些设备的材料科学和气体物理的进一步研究可能会扩大目前对光潜力的理解。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of lightweight atmospheric platforms that require no moving parts or onboard power to loft payloads useful to climate research, telecommunications, and national security. Currently, conventional craft must carry fuel or batteries, which limits their payload capacity to be allotted to applications. The proposed technology may be outfitted with sensors for different atmospheric properties (e.g., pressure, temperature), which are key proxies for climate change and surface weather. These devices may be a valuable tool for climate researchers and practical monitoring and mitigation of global warming. Similar uses of these devices could benefit the exploration of Mars. Commercial and defense communications need higher bandwidths and a wider variety of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The military in particular needs covert and secure data transmission pathways. These devices may be used as telecommunications networks, relay points for sensitive information, and/or platforms for microscale sensors and cameras. Deploying this technology could, therefore, advance national security and prevent technological surprise. This I-Corps project is based on the development of ultra-lightweight devices that can self-levitate indefinitely in Earth’s and Mars’s atmospheres without onboard power or moving parts. The proposed devices are made of ultra-thin, nanofabricated structures that generate lofting via photophoretic levitation. This passive mechanism turns the sun’s radiative energy into a gas flow through the structures, producing thrust. The architecture of these devices allows the bulk of their payload capacity to be allotted to applications, an advantage over conventional craft that must carry fuel or batteries. Each device will have a payload capacity of a few 100 mg in Earth's mesosphere, enough to loft telecommunications and remote sensing hardware while station-keeping over a fixed point on the ground. Arrays of lofted devices are designed to interface with each other to achieve data rates greater than the sum of the individual devices. Further research into the materials science and gas physics underpinning these devices may expand the current understanding of the photophoretic force broadly.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.