Arizona State University's Global Institute of Sustainability building on the Tempe campus draws a considerable amount of attention from passers-by. The reason; the array of wind-powered turbines that line the roof. Right now, the turbines produce enough power to operate six computers for 24 hours. While that may not seem like a great deal of electricity, it does highlight the potential of wind power fro reducing energy costs and carbon dioxide emissions. The six turbines cost $10,000 each are designed to utilize cross-winds and rising heat form the building. Senior Project Manager Mohammad Madjidi said that though wind power is not the only answer to providing electricity, they offer new sustainable prospects. In combination with other sustainable energy sources such as solar power, wind power could be an exciting new way to help the environment.
Computers may one day generate enough wind energy to power themselves
In the not so distant future, computers may be able to generate enough power from wind energy to run themselves. New possibilities are on the horizon for harnessing wind energy by using computer manipulated kites. If you've ever kite surfed then you will know that even when the wind is calm you can maximize its power by flying the kite through the air in a figure eight formation.
Researchers have been experimenting with computer-controlled, high-flying kites attached to turbines to generate electricity; as the kites pull on the lines this turns the turbine. Though this is effective when the wind is blowing at a strong and consistent rate, the computers have problems controlling them when there are sudden gusts or little wind. To prevent the kites form crashing in these situations, Allister Furey, roboticist and kite surfer from the University of Sussex in the UK, and his colleague Inman Harvey have developed a neural network that has learned how to steer a kite like the best.
The program began with 20 separate software algorithms and got each to fly simulated kites so that they would pull as hard as possible in a wind of 8 meters per second. At first the computers would crash the kites within less than a second. By blending together the algorithms that functioned more efficiently, the team enabled the computers to not only fly the kites, but also maneuver them in a figure eight formation so that they could keep them in the air even during strong gusts or lulls.