A Nature-Inspired Underwater Power Generator that Looks Like Sharks
May 26, 2008 · Print This Article
Following nature’s innate wisdom when planning a design seems like a really smart idea. I love bio-mimicry, and this is just about the coolest thing I’ve seen. Underwater generators that disturb sea life as little as possible and look this awesome? Love it.
Gizmodo has it:
It never hurts to take cues from nature when designing technology, and that’s just what BioPower Systems did when engineering its bioSTREAM underwater generator. It’s inspired by shark tails, using the shape in a fixed device that moves with the motion of the ocean. It reverses the use of the tail, with the water moving it rather than it moving in the water, but by anchoring it to a fixed point it allows it to align itself in any direction depending on how the flow is moving. No word on just how cost-effective generating energy this way would be, however.
I wish they would add shark fins to them that stick out of the water. I’d pay to go see that – a giant field of artificial sharks swimming in an unchanging and immovable formation.
Read more about biologically inspired ocean power systems at the BioPower Systems website.
Link [Gizmodo] + [BioPower Systems]
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Holy crap, that’s cool. I have heard about other kinds of water-based generators, some that bob up and down with the waves or tides. But this seems neat, like underwater windmills.