The mooring unmanned aerial vehicles. (PHOTO: VCG)

By GONG Qian

After a 6.2-magnitude earthquake rocked Jishishan County in northwest China's Gansu province on December 18, the mooring unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) were deployed on site for rescue relief.

A mooring UAV is mainly comprised of a ground power supply base station carrier, a mooring cable and a UAV. Different from the general UAV powered by a lithium battery, the mooring UAV is powered by the ground power supply transmitted by tethered cables, which makes it capable of hovering in the air for a prolonged period.

One of the most important applications of mooring UAVs is as an illuminating system in disaster relief sites where the power supply has been cut off. Usually, a lighting system fixed on a pole is used. But due to the nonadjustable height of the pole, the light sometimes cannot cover the entire area that needs to be illuminated, making it disadvantageous.

Thanks to its major advantage, the mooring UAV is widely used in earthquake relief and emergency communications. It can solve the problem of incomplete lighting coverage and insufficient brightness intensity of lighting sources. Additionally, the mooring UAV is easy to carry, which makes it perfect for rapid deployment.