Jafferis GS develops ‘flying carpet’ technology

“Flying” carpets, once an image of myth, fantasy and science fiction, may soon be the innovation of the future, thanks to electrical engineering graduate student Noah Jafferis who has developed a sheet of plastic material that can propel itself forward and backward without touching the ground.

The carpet is essentially a plastic sheet laden with piezoelectric actuators, which either contract or expand when voltages are applied across them. When two layers of piezoelectric materials are glued together, the voltage allows one side to contract and other side to expand, causing the plastic sheet in between to bend.

“If we make different regions of the sheet bend in different ways, we create the shape of a water wave,” Jafferis explained. “As it moves across the plastic, the wave is actually pushing air away, allowing the sheet to travel.”

Inspired by Harvard applied math professor Lakshminarayanan Mahadevan’s 2007 theoretical paper on the dynamic properties of flexible materials, Jafferis decided to take on the challenge of building a working prototype of what Mahadevan’s paper described as a mythical “flying” carpet.

“I was working on another project, and I read an article about the theory of the ‘flying’ carpet,” Jafferis explained. “It seemed very interesting, and I wanted to see if we could actually do it in the lab.”

Electrical engineering professor James Sturm, who is Jafferis’ faculty adviser, did not initially know what to make of the idea when Noah proposed it over two years ago. But Sturm eventually decided that it was worth trying out given that the project would draw from concepts already being explored in the lab.

“It wasn’t immediately obvious why [Noah’s idea] was useful, but it was in the general direction of what we were doing in the lab, trying to make structures that were able to flex and bend in certain ways from thin sheets,” Sturm said. “I knew from a previous project that Noah was very resourceful. And he convinced me to give it a shot.”

Jafferis also sought the mentorship of mechanical and aerospace engineering professor Howard Stone throughout the process to improve his understanding of the underlying theory of translating waves.

Sturm pointed out that the “flying” carpet is the first of its kind to show propulsion through the air. Past research has demonstrated the bending properties of different materials in only aqueous environments.

But a common misconception about the project, Jafferis said, is that the sheet can actually lift itself off the ground. His prototype is currently suspended off the ground externally and can only move forward and backward.

“The current work is about demonstrating a propulsive force ... not lift as of yet. To achieve lift, the sheet has to be untethered to allow it to reach faster speeds while still being only a few millimeters above the ground,” Jafferis said in an email.

The project is detailed in a paper published in the Sept. 15 issue of Applied Physics Letters.

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Since publication, the research has been picked by a number of major news organizations — including the BBC, Huffington Post and Times of India — which have labeled it as the precursor to an actual flying carpet.

But while he has been pleasantly surprised by the active interest in his “flying” carpet, Jafferis noted that the international coverage has not been free of factual errors.

Prior to reading and further exploring Mahadevan’s research, he had been working on another project in Sturm’s lab that used nano inks to put electronics on thin sheets of transistors and circuitry. Jafferis explained that his plans with regards to this project had been misrepresented.

“The BBC just plainly misquoted me about abandoning my other project. It just wasn’t true at all,” he said.

In fact, he has been working on both projects simultaneously and will publish on the original project soon.

Looking forward, Jafferis hopes to improve the “flying” carpet by expanding its directionality, speed and portability.

Currently, the sheet is tethered by a network of connective threads that connects it to a large external power source and limits the distance and speed in which it can travel.

“We would like to find a way to miniaturize some of that circuitry, perhaps with a solar cell or battery, directed by some kind of radio control,” Sturm said.

Jafferis said he believes the flying carpets have many potential applications but will be most useful for traversing through dusty environments such as that of Mars.