RELACs partnered up with AERPAW to run the first field demonstration of the 800 W Autonomous Wireless UAV Charging Pad. Dr. Pantic, Ujjwal, Muhammad, and Stephen drove out to the NC State farms where there was ample space for flight. Dr. Sichitiu and his undergraduate student, Byron Qi, were in charge of piloting the quadcopter. The UAV was flown with one battery instead of two, so the charger was tested at half power (400 W), ramping up to a constant-current value of 14 A. The autonomous charging process was successful, taking only 15 minutes to recharge the battery, and the drone took off for its next mission!
The field demonstration video is posted here: https://youtu.be/dh156lwS9G0