Giant UAV cloud to aid Qatar's World Cup vision

American news channel CNN has reported that researchers at Qatar University's engineering school have come up with a novel way to cool the stadiums ahead of the 2022 World Cup... giant flying saucers.The report says that the university is developing a UAV which is effectively, a giant artificial remotely controlled "cloud" made up of high-tech materials that will be positioned between the blistering sun and the still-to-be-built football stadiums.

Dr. Saud Ghani, head of a Mechanical and Industrial Engineering group at Qatar University, told CNN that the artificial robotic cloud could potentially drop the temperatures on the pitch by 10 degrees Fahrenheit.

Ghani said that the design has passed the initial engineering phase and his team plan to make a 4-by-3 metre prototype by the end of this year to test the concept.

The finished product would be a rectangle made up of carbon fibre and solar panels the size of a Boeing 747. It would use sophisticated monitoring gear to track the transit of the sun and would use four electric powered engines to manoeuvre to the precisely the right position to drop a cool shade across the stadiums.

Ghani also said that the technology could also be useful in security and communications. Radio and camera transmitters could help facilitate wireless communication and provide an eye-in-the-sky for broadcasters or security forces.

His team eventually hopes to construct the helium-filled devices in Qatar, and the final price for each unit could be as low as $500,000, Ghani predicted.