Ocean quadcopters: persistent and autonomous aerial surveillance of large maritime areas by quadcopters self-powered by ocean waves

In this work consideration is given to the possibility for persistent aerial surveillance of oceans by means of quadcopters capable of taking off and landing on the sea and charging their batteries by the waves from the ocean. Clusters of relatively inexpensive ocean quadcopters equipped with conventional CCD cameras could be scattered over large and abandoned maritime areas to perform continuous and random aerial surveillance of the region. Utilizing a simple physical model, the feasibility of this novel approach for monitoring large maritime areas is assessed. Additional R & D is required in order to explore the possibilities offered by oceans quadcopters