• unexposedhazard@discuss.tchncs.de
          cake
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          3
          ·
          edit-2
          6 hours ago

          Im no expert here, but these drones have to fly many kilometers and they carry the spool on board, so the added weight is probably an issue. I assume the production would be much more complicated too. For normal industrial underground fibers the shielding can be quite thick and stiff, but for this you would need some kinda coating that can be incredibly thin while also somehow blocking all light.

          • despoticruin@lemmy.zip
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            1
            ·
            6 minutes ago

            Vapor deposited metal film. Expensive, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they already use exactly that to handle interference from the sun. Even non-coherent light can wash the sensors out if you have enough of it.

        • piccolo@sh.itjust.works
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          4
          ·
          edit-2
          7 hours ago

          The space shuttle launch fuel tank was only painted for the first two launches. They stopped because the paint weighed 600 pounds and didnt offer any real benefit. So yeah, a little bit of paint does add up.