Product Inspiration

The effective range of cell phone towers and wireless internet hubs has a lot to do with how high they are mounted. In the conventional world, this translates to building taller towers and mounting on tall fixtures. Now, with dropping prices of electronic components and a rising demand for remote data and phone connectivity, its becoming cost effective to send “disposable” cellular and wireless internet stations up on balloons, which provide communication for a wide area on the ground.

This could be a great way for us rural folks to get reliable voice and data reception out in the middle of nowhere. Personally, I think it has a lot of potential, especially given the fact that “a single balloon can serve an area otherwise requiring 40 cell towers.” Lets just hope one doesn’t get sucked into a jet engine and cause a plane crash.

http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB120347353988378955.html?mod=blo g

This system, which has been in the works for a few years now, harnesses wind power to save fuel costs for big ocean-going shipping vessels. A large kite-like sail is attached to the ship, and provides extra power to get the boat across the ocean in less time and fuel costs. The first of these sails (which are being developed by multiple different companies) will set sail this year.

Here’s my two favorite things about this technology:

1) Its practically ‘money for nothing’- the system pays for itself in 3 years, and the user reaps the profit for every year thereafter which it is still functional.

2) It borrows from the older version of the same product. While it doesn’t happen often, sometimes the best innovations for a current product (intercontinental shipping) may be inspired by an outdated design (sailboats) of the same product.

What other products could be improved by applying older design aspects to the current form?

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/12/go_fly_a_kite_from_your_ship.p hp

A big problem with conventional wind-based power generation is that it requires a relatively high average wind speed in a particular area. This unusual design boasts much better efficiency in low winds by exploiting wind’s ability to vibrate a ribbon (or bridge). The vibrating ribbon moves a small magnet rapidly back and forth between a set of electromagnetic coils, which comprise one of the simplest generator designs possible.

This appears to be a terrific design with lots of potential today for niche applications such as remote self-powered equipment. While it will probably not compete with full size wind turbines in the forseeable future, maybe a much larger version of this design (or an array of these modules) could provide useable power for some home applications.

http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/industry/4224763.html?serie s=37 via ecogeek