Experimental Analysis of a UAV-Based Wireless Power Transfer Localization System

Abstract. Sensors deployed in remote locations provide unprecedented amounts of data, but powering these sensors over long periods remains a challenge. In this paper, we develop and present a UAV-based wireless power transfer system. We discuss design considerations and present our system that allows a UAV to fly to remote locations to charge hard to ac-cess sensors. We analyze the impact of different materials on the wireless power transfer system. Since GPS does not provide sufficient accuracy, we develop and experimentally characterize a relative localization algo-rithm based on sensing the magnetic field of the power transfer system and optical flow that allows the UAV to localize the sensor with an av-erage error of 15 cm to enable the transfer of on average 4.2 W. These results overcome some of the practical challenges associated with wire-lessly charging sensors with a UAV and show that UAVs with wireless power transfer systems can greatly extend the life of remotely deployed sensors.