Drones are saving lives, fighting crime and might even deliver your packages in the future. But they also crash, leaving behind plastic and metal debris.
It was an issue Yellowstone National Park had to face for the first time this year when a tourist sunk his drone into one of the park’s hot springs, possibly damaging the geothermal attraction.
But what if drones crashed and didn’t leave a footprint? That’s what a team of students, made up primarily of Stanford and Brown University students and advised by NASA, had in mind when they created a biodegradable drone made of fungi.
The body of the drone was grown in a lab and made from mycelium, the vegetative part of a fungus. The solid, Styrofoam-like body takes a week to grow in a special mold before it’s outfitted with a circuit board and motors.
Currently, only the body is biodegradable, which eventually turns into a goo-like substance. But the team already has its sights on recreating the drone with most if not all biodegradable parts said Eli Block, a student at Brown University who has worked on the project since May.
As a proof of concept, the team has been successful in building a fully biodegradable circuit board; building biodegradable motors and propellers are the next step said Block.
It’s a scientific take on drones as opposed to drones built for military purposes said student researcher and Stanford University student Alaina Shumate.
For example, a drone equipped with the right sensors could be piloted to an area unsafe for humans and collect data without putting the pilot in harms way. If the drone were to crash and not make it back, it wouldn’t create more waste.
“We’re using science to help science,” said Shumate. “We can better gather scientific data with these drones without having to harm the environment.”
Follow Frank Bi on Twitter at @FrankieBi
