Miniature windmills could power outlying wireless networks
posted Nov 10th 2005 1:15PM
Wireless technology has allowed scientists and researchers to pepper internet-enabled sensors far beyond the range
of the wired grid, but the issue of powering these devices still remains. University of Texas electrical engineer Dr.
Shashank Priya thinks he has the solution to this problem, in the form of miniature windmills (not pictured) that can
provide adequate power from breezes as faint as 10 MPH. Priya's 4-inch diameter 'mills differ from their larger
counterparts in that they employ piezoelectric crystals which generate a current when flexed by a rotating cam. Were he
to have used the conventional generators found in regular windmills, his minimills would only achieve one percent
efficiency, as opposed to the 18 percent they can reach using the piezoelectric materials. Up next for Priya is
perfecting the even-smaller windmills that he has patented, which should be able to capture even lighter breezes, and
may also be suitable for mounting on a top hat.
[Via The Raw Feed]
Great, the first person'll be Don Quixote glancing at it with his iPaq
Your data carries with the wind.
Sweet. So we can mount these things in Boundary Waters up near Canada. . .I always thought it was unfare that nature was left out of the WIFI loop. Now bears, pumas, and deer can all join in on the wireless revolution.
So if you see any suspicious top hat wearing folk nearby, secure your WiFi.... WarHatters are about!
This is the stupidest thing I have ever seen.
Someone needs to use his pizeo electric system for all those wireless keyboards. No wind required - just the energy from your keypresses. Most people agree that keyboards need tactile feedback for usability reasons - currently that goes into little springs that just waste your fingertip energy as heat and noise. Instead put some piezoelectric crystals in there and generate enough power to keep the keyboard going! See unpatent #4: http://longdarktechtime.com/2005/08/unpatent-4-self-powered-wireless.html
Stupid? Enough of the sarcasm and what not, this is great in the sense that this kind of technology can be used in so many different application to save energy. FOr people with homes, slighter bigger versions can probably be used for boilers/heaters/who knows what...better than solar panels!!
? better than solar panels?
I guess that all depends on where you live.
In the desert, with batteries to charge the unused current to for nighttime consumption, I think the solar panels would win out. However the two systems can work together even throw in a hydro generator (one of those 'throw it in the stream barrels') and you've got a redundant power system.
I have some land that the sun shines on 330 days out of the year and the wind blows across constantly. I've considered throwing up a windmill just to sell power to other folks and to the power company, so this brings to mind something even better.
Hack my way into a satellite connection, bridge it to a wimax type router which would all be powered by my solar/wind power generators. Then all my ranching neighbors could join the workgroup/network file share with each other and join in on the cost of the equipment/connection (if I paid for it)
This is the next evolution. Armageddon Proofing the internet... no really...
This has been around for a long time. Sailboats have used similar technology along with solar panels to recharge their batteries while either under sail or in a breezy port.
Kinda funny that the sailboaters figured it out before all the fancy schmancy tech companies that get paid to think up this stuff.
In California, we use solar panels to power the call boxes along our highways. This has worked quite well for us - but we are a sunny state.