Drones have all kinds of potential applications, from keeping a watchful eye on endangered wildlife to monitoring air quality.

But limitations such as finite battery life and capped data storage has always held them back from their potential as a research tool... until now.

Singaporean firm H3 Dynamics has a novel solution to both problems: the Dronebox, a solar-powered landing station for miniature aircraft, Digital Spy reports.

The contraption draws in power from the suns rays, ready to fuel up a drone when it lands. What's more, the flight data collected can be uploaded to the station to free up the aircraft's internal storage space.

The idea behind Dronebox is to make drones less needy and minimise the amount of human intervention they require during a mission.

For instance, aircraft could be preprogrammed to return to the landing pad to recharge and upload data, before jetting off again to continue recording.

"We have gone beyond the fixed sensor," H3 Dynamics founder Taras Wankewycz told Reuters. "We now have a sensor that has come out of its enclosure and moves."

Oil companies, government agencies, security firms and drone makers are said to have expressed interest in Dronebox, so it might not be long before this exciting breakthrough makes it to the field.