This week we look at electric power generated by autonomous kites and walls. We also discover new hearing device that is simpler and more effective than current devices. We examine a wooden knife that is harder than steel and finally we catch up on the autonomous racing car challenge which was held recently at the Indianapolis Raceway.
Autonomous Flying Wind Turbines
German startup KiteKraft has developed a flying wind turbine that needs 1/10th the materials that a traditional tower based wind turbine uses.
The craft, which looks like a kite is attached to a tether which is anchored to the ground. Energy is generated via 8 small onboard rotors. The tether acts as a power cord. Generated energy is transmitted to the ground and then to the grid or a storage battery.
The system can be used in open fields or as part of offshore wind farms. The kites operate autonomously and will bring themselves back to base in the event of very high winds, storms or still air. There are no large turbines or towers. The kites always fly high enough to avoid humans or ground based machinery. They could be used as a supplemental income for farmers or others with large tracts of land. The system is able to be easily moved to a new location when needed.
The prototype kites have been successfully tested and can generate 5kw of power. The company is on their way to building a kite that can generate 100kw. Much larger kites are planned for the future. The team expects to start shipping kites in 2024.
Walls of Wind
Wind is everywhere however we don’t currently take full advantage of this everywhere resource. American Designer Joe Doubt has a solution. He has designed a wall to capture wind energy anywhere we might want to build a wall.
The wall wind turbine consists of a grid of small square panes spinning in the wind. The prototype has the panes spinning on 25 axes. The size and format of the wall can be adapted to the size of wall that is desired.
Walls could be built in parks, gardens, alongside homes and highways, anywhere the wind blows. The wall is cheap and easy to install therefor could be placed anywhere we need a wall (rather than in high wind areas which are required for wind turbines to be economic).
The average American household uses roughly 10,000 kilowatt hours of electricity per year. Modeling shows that a single 25 foot wall would be able to provide enough power for that average household (when combined with battery storage).
Enabling Hearing
New Zealand startup, Hemideian, has recently raised a $10m Series A investment to further develop its’ hearing technology. Founded in 2017 by Dr Liz Williams and Dr Kate Lomas, Hemideina took inspiration from the New Zealand insect, hemideina crassidens which has a similar hearing range to humans.
Their wireless hearing implant uses a unique stimulation model to enable hearing from captured sound. A mechanical signal processing system captures and preserves sound information in order to deliver a truer, more natural sound experience. It helps filter out background noise and allows for a greater range of auditory perception. Wearers can enjoy music and have a better tonal language perception. Capabilities that current digital signal processing can not match.
The device is smaller, like a small ear bud headphone without an over ear battery. Surgery to implant the device is simpler and faster than current alternatives. Post surgery wait time to use the device is reucdced from two weeks to the same day.
There are currently 60 million people globally that suffer from severe hearing loss, just one million have had a cochlear implant in the 40 years since its’ invention. The capital raised will help build out the team and technology.
A Wooden Knife
Researchers at the University of Maryland have developed a simple, affordable method for creating natural wood materials that are 23 times harder than typical wood. They tested the hardened wood by fashioning a wooden knife and nails. Both products outperformed their steel counterparts.
Cellulase, the main component of wood, has a higher ratio of strength to density than most engineered materials such as ceramics, metals and polymers. Wood is not commonly used as it is not as strong as pure cellulose (which makes up 40 to 50% of wood).
The team developed a practical and affordable manufacturing method for creating hardened wood by removing its weaker components (Lignin and hemicellulose). Cut pieces of wood are soaked in a water based solution of sodium hydroxide and sodium sulfate. This fills the pores in the wood and causes it to sink. The wood is then boiled at 100C for 4 hours. The somewhat squishy wood was then compressed for 6 hours, using a hot press at room temperature and a pressure of 20Mpa. The wood is then dried by heating it to 105C. The resulting wood is then immersed into a food grade oil for 48 hours to make the surface water resistant.
The team’s nails proved to be just as sharp as commercial steel nails and they are resistant to rusting. The product may also be able to provide an alternative to plastic and steel utensils. Flooring that is much more scratch and damage resistant may also be possible.
Indy Autonomous Challenge
In January we mentioned an autonomous racing car challenge that was to be held at the Indianapolis Raceway in October 2021. The race has now been run and won.
The race start flag was delivered by drone to a robotic dog who stood ready to start the race. Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb gave the “start your software” instruction and the robot dog waved the green flag to start the race.
21 Universities from around the world formed 9 teams to test the feasibility and reliability of autonomous driving technology in the light Indy cars.
The event was organized as a qualifying session (rather than a race). The weather was not kind. The temperature was quite low with intermittent rain. Less than ideal conditions for speed. Consequently not everything went to plan, of 11 starts there were 4 crashes. However the leading car hit speeds of 240kph in the straight and achieved an average two lap speed of 217kph. Sponsors invested a total of US$120m to make the competition possible.
Paying it Forward
If you have a start-up or know of a start-up that has a product ready for market please let me know. I would be happy to have a look and feature the startup in this newsletter. Also if any startups need introductions please get in touch and I will help where I can.
If you have any questions or comments please email me via my website craigcarlyon.com or comment below.
I would also appreciate it if you could forward this newsletter to anyone that you think might be interested.
Till next week.
But as they commented on Top Gear, impressive self driving cars, but
there won't be spectators interested to buy tickets or put bets on as no human driver variables like in F1.