Swiss scientists created an edible drone with 300 kcal calories to save lives in emergency situations

Scientists at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne have developed a partially edible drone. The drone was created as part of the RoboFood European project.

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The purpose of developing such a drone is to provide food to people who are in trouble. Part of the design of the drone is made of food, which can save the lives of people waiting for the arrival of rescuers.

Swiss scientists continue to improve their drone. The current version of the drone has a food payload of 50% of its own mass. The experts plan to increase this figure even more in the future.

The prototype drone has only edible wings, which can meet the needs of a person in one breakfast. They are made of rice wafers. They were cut into the shape of a honeycomb and glued together with gelatin. In case the drone came in contact with water, the wings were wrapped in foil.

The prototype drone was able to reach speeds of up to 10 m/s (36 km/h) in flight, proving the effectiveness of the concept itself. In the future, Swiss scientists plan to improve the design of the drone, to increase the caloric value (now - 300 kcal) and add an edible container to store water.

Source: IEEE Spectrum