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Wind-powered Wi-Fi Sensors

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the self-sufficient-drones dept.

Glenn Fleishman writes "According to an article at Indolink a 10-centimeter diameter windmill can produce the 7.5 milliwatts needed for a wireless sensor. The paper was published earlier (available as a PDF), but Nature magazine has apparently picked up the tidbit. The process flexes piezoelectric crystals to create a current. Although flywheels aren't mentioned in this article, it seems like a windmill, a flywheel, and a solar cell could in combination produce effective power in a range of conditions for remote wireless devices, including network relays obviating batteries entirely."

7 of 89 comments (clear)

  1. Re:A really clever joke... by Device666 · · Score: 3, Funny

    Why not use windmills to power our computers coolingfans?

  2. Remember those retro propeller beanies.. by Mechcommander · · Score: 5, Funny

    How about bring them back with a geeky Wi-Fi vengeance?

    Possibly even attach an LED headband to it to tell others how close to a hotspot they're in. C'mon, I see profits galore!

  3. Prior Art by karvind · · Score: 5, Funny

    Propeller Beanie hats :)

  4. Environmental effects? by Ritz_Just_Ritz · · Score: 5, Funny

    10cm?!?! You'll decimate the local Japanese beetle population! We can't have that. Somebody alert PETA!

  5. 7.5 milliwatts by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Funny

    What's the big deal? One of CowboyNeal's fart could produce that.

  6. How about... by MikeSingee · · Score: 2, Funny

    How about a wifi powered wind detector?

  7. obligatory by Hobbes828 · · Score: 2, Funny

    In Soviet Russia, the Wi-Fi powers the Wind!!!!