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Micro wind turbine (i.imgur.com)

submitted by KevlarYarmulke

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[–]HexKrak 42 points43 points  (10 children)

I bring a small solar panel that I can clip to the outside of my pack, won't fully charge my phone in a day if it's cloudy or I'm continuously using it for GPS, but most days it does great, and is super light.

That said, this is a cool design and could work better than my setup depending on the environment.

[–]illegible 21 points22 points  (8 children)

At least you can charge while on the move though.

[–]darlingpinky 17 points18 points  (4 children)

Just carry it in your hand like a flag.

[–]profbetis 20 points21 points  (3 children)

Slapping you in the face with every revolution

[–]monkey804 12 points13 points  (1 child)

Back attachment. Like warriors heading out into a battle. It'll be more epic if you have somebody with battle drum behind you for extra immersion.

[–]Black_Hipster -1 points0 points  (0 children)

What is this, the Middle East?

[–]LongUsername 8 points9 points  (1 child)

You've got 8+ hrs at night where you'd likely have wind but no sun and you'd be sitting in camp.

[–]thirtynation 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Not who you replied to, but I get around this by using the solar panel to keep a 20,0000 mah portable USB battery constantly charged. Power whenever needed.

[–]xelf 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Is there a kinetic charger available? Seems like it would be a good idea.

[–]OskeewowwowIL 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Plus you can charge at night and when it's overcast.

[–]deegva 149 points150 points  (3 children)

Can't help but picture a strong wind carrying the turbine away, while you look on helplessly as your phone is carried with it down the mountain.

[–]cheesecake1988 35 points36 points  (2 children)

I saw some ropes pegged into the ground in the video

[–]davvblack 15 points16 points  (1 child)

Hopefully it's designed so there's a failure point in the shaft weaker than the pegs, so in heavy gusts it snaps and leaves whatever you've plugged in behind.

[–]hyperdream 36 points37 points  (19 children)

Meaningless without power output specs.

[–]LongUsername 7 points8 points  (0 children)

5W with a 18km/h wind.

[–]original_4degrees 3 points4 points  (7 children)

we have to wait till october for those.

[–]gehzumteufel 12 points13 points  (6 children)

Actually you don't.

http://nilsferber.de/micro-wind-turbine/

[–]Youreahugeidiot 9 points10 points  (0 children)

The current design is opimized to be used for smaller USB devices and can be handled by one single person. It produces a constant output of 5 Watts at a windspeed of 18 km/h.

[–]Name0fTheUser 8 points9 points  (4 children)

For the lazy, they claim 1A at 5V, with a wind speed of 18km/h, which should charge most devices in a reasonable time.

[–]TommyBaseball 7 points8 points  (1 child)

They claim 18 km/h, which equals 5 m/s or 10 knots ot 11 mph, which is a little more reasonable.

[–]Name0fTheUser 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Oops, edited.

[–]SoulWager 2 points3 points  (1 child)

Well, cellphones. tablets might not be so reasonable.

[–]ikahjalmr 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Plus phones now charge at 5V/2A, so this would feel slow to someone with a newer phone, although definitely not bad if it's stable

[–]gehzumteufel 2 points3 points  (4 children)

http://nilsferber.de/micro-wind-turbine/

[–]bananagrammick 3 points4 points  (3 children)

Thanks for digging this up. I can't believe the system is only 5w. I'm not sure what the upside of this would be over solar since solar puts out far more juice. The only thing I could think of is a camping light setup.

[–]Koldfuzion 7 points8 points  (2 children)

Most "camping" style solar panel setups I've seen only put out 3-8w, so you're right, it'd offer no power output advantage for the relative size.

The only real benefit I see would be power generation without good sunlight exposure. I could see this working okay running through the night to charge your device. Other than that, I'd opt for the solar panels since it doesn't have moving parts (which will inevitably break/fail).

[–]appropriate-username 3 points4 points  (1 child)

The answer here is obviously to make a wind turbine without moving parts.

[–]learn2die101 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Genius.

[–]lgoolsby 2 points3 points  (1 child)

Everything would be speculation, but I imagine the turbine might charge a capacitor that outputs 5 volts to a charging circuit to prevent undervolting the devices. If it works on USB, that seems like a decent guess.

[–]WhichFawkes 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This doesn't say anything about the amperage...

[–]thisaccountisbs -3 points-2 points  (2 children)

And a variable output will likely ruin your battery.

[–]philmoskowitz 8 points9 points  (1 child)

That's not true in the least. Regulation is about the easiest thing to do in electronic design.

[–]SoulWager 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Though some devices might get confused about how much power they can actually draw from it, and charge slower than optimal. It would probably work best as a dedicated battery charger, not a source for USB power.

[–]LongUsername 6 points7 points  (6 children)

As a CPAP user one of the biggest problem with CPAPs and backpacking/rough camping is either carrying a big enough battery to last multiple nights or recharging a smaller battery. Something like this would be very interesting depending on the current output.

EDIT: the web site quotes 5 watts with a 18km/h wind. That would mean to get a night of CPAP use you'd have to charge for about 12-13 hrs. Doable if you have a fixed base camp and a good steady wind. Even if you only set it up at night if you have the wind it would extend your 2 night battery by a night or two.

[–]adaminc 0 points1 point  (5 children)

How does a CPAP work exactly?

Would you be able to use a compressed air tank based system with an electronic control system, instead of a battery operated air pump?

[–]crasyphreak 2 points3 points  (2 children)

It sets up a high pressure area in your nose/mouth in order to keep your airway open.

edit: with sleep apnea, your airway closes and you have to "exit" the current sleep cycle to open it back up, aka you wake up a little just not enough to notice it. This plays havoc with sleep since you may be unable to go through an entire sleep cycle all night.

[–]adaminc 0 points1 point  (1 child)

Well I know that, but how does the machine itself work.

[–]phate_exe 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's a small air compressor.

[–]LongUsername 1 point2 points  (1 child)

CPAP is basically a big fan moving a large volume of air the entire time you're asleep. I've never seen anything using a compressed air tank.

The pressures are low but the volume is high: typical higher treatment pressure is around 14cmH2O, which translates to about 0.2 PSI. The difference is it blows 20-60L of air per minute at that pressure.

[–]adaminc 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, seems that a tank, even something like a large 100ci 3000psi HPA tank for paintball, wouldn't hold enough. It'd be done in about 1min.

[–]Mnementh2230 9 points10 points  (6 children)

Great not just for charging a phone, but also batteries for light-weight drones.

[–]Jericho85 5 points6 points  (0 children)

It seems like wind high enough to charge batteries would be fast enough to be problematic from lightweight drones. I guess the efficiency of the charger would be really important?

[–]florian0815 0 points1 point  (2 children)

I don't think you can charge a light-weight drone with 5W.

[–]Mnementh2230 2 points3 points  (0 children)

My Syma X5C could charge on that, battery is tiny.

[–]phate_exe 1 point2 points  (0 children)

One of my quadcopters charged via USB, but I wouldn't exactly call it a "Drone" since it doesn't wasn't made to carry a camera (once carrying a gopro it didn't have much/any control authority).

But it was also cheap and had low performing motors/blades.

[–]h35grga 0 points1 point  (1 child)

Jesus Christ I wish I was a prepper. These motherfuckers probably have basements full of surveillance and attack drones.

[–]irving47 [score hidden]  (0 children)

The two that I know seem to focus heavily on guns. The mantra seemed to be if they couldn't 'eat it or shoot it' they didn't want it.

[–]KZ963 48 points49 points  (24 children)

Charge your phone outside of civilization, where there are no cell towers...

[–]sir_fancypants 116 points117 points  (18 children)

Smartphones are still useful for GPS, maps, video, etc. Better than carrying a bunch of separate devices.

[–]kerbuffel 12 points13 points  (15 children)

Also, better than carrying paper maps since you don't have to figure out where you are on the map before figuring out where you need to go.

[–]original_4degrees 33 points34 points  (9 children)

being able to read a map and get bearings is always a must.

[–]Tjblackford 8 points9 points  (1 child)

Some people just don't know how to triangulate via reverse azmyths.

[–]kerdon 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Azimuth*. Good word!

[–]whollyme 2 points3 points  (4 children)

If you can't read a map, you shouldn't be out where you might need one. A GPS might tell you where you are, but it can also run out of battery.

[–]Ryanisreallame 12 points13 points  (3 children)

I hope they come up with some kind of portable wind turbine so we can charge our devices out in the middle of nowhere.

[–]whollyme 1 point2 points  (1 child)

I still wouldn't want to be in the middle of nowhere without the ability to read a map. A portable wind turbine would be lovely, but there are still too many failure points for my comfort.

[–]Ryanisreallame 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh I wholeheartedly agree, having an at least basic understanding is essential.

[–]AndersLund 0 points1 point  (0 children)

One is being developed!

[–]WhichFawkes 7 points8 points  (1 child)

Actually the separate devices usually have much better battery life and phone GPSs suck.

My GPS will happily run for 24 straight hours, and my camera will take hundreds of photos on a single set of batteries... but my phone wouldn't be able to keep up with either duty for a single day. And my phone + charging gear weighs about as much as just taking the GPS + camera which will perform better.

Furthermore they both take AA batteries so I can just bring one pair as spares and never wait for anything to charge.

[–]low_altitude_sherpa 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I always try to justify some sort of charger.... solar/wind/stove based. And for this reason I just can't. AA's, especially Lithium last forever and are light enough that you can pack several sets for the weight of a charging setup. Unless you are going to be out for a month it is worth just carrying the batteries.

The setup shown in the clip would be good for, say, basecamp Everest. But then there are probably generators anyway.

[–]CaptainMinty 7 points8 points  (0 children)

You can get a satellite adapter, for example: http://www.thuraya.com/satsleeveandroid

[–]SOULJAR 3 points4 points  (0 children)

someone make a portable cell phone tower next pls

[–]VikingCoder 2 points3 points  (0 children)

There's an app for that! Google Trips

[–]vigillan388 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You can even get 4G at Mount Everest!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/mobile-phones/10161553/4G-coverage-on-Mount-Everest.html

[–]Cronus6 [score hidden]  (0 children)

I really could have used this after hurricane Wilma. Six weeks without electricity right in the middle of "civilization".

The only thing that did work (well it took them about a week to get them back online) was the cell towers.

(Also went a combined total of 4 weeks without electricity after hurricanes Francis and Jean...)

[–]eambos 4 points5 points  (2 children)

They're claiming 5W output with 18km/h consistant winds.

Assuming no losses (awful assumption), an average 2200mAh, 3.7V (~8Wh) smartphone battery would take at least 1.6 hours to charge. In reality, I imagine it would easily take 2x that, if not more.

Additionally, you'll need some electronics to ensure consistent voltage output. This will certainly drive the efficiency down.

Cool idea, but not exactly viable.

[–]littlebunnyf00foo 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If they are selling a wind turbine to charge cellphones, I would bet they put the requisite capacitors and voltage regulators behind the USB port.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB#Power

Assuming lower wind speeds, they could also probably lower the output to one of the lower output specs, and charge things in low wind over night.

[–]AndersLund 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Assuming no losses (awful assumption), an average 2200mAh, 3.7V (~8Wh) smartphone battery would take at least 1.6 hours to charge. In reality, I imagine it would easily take 2x that, if not more.

And you sleep for 8 hours - no problem charging two phones over night.

[–]jim45804 9 points10 points  (1 child)

I've been waiting for a solution to my energy needs when camping on an bare, exposed mountaintop.

[–]Vekete 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Some people like to take pictures.

[–]anthrox 1 point2 points  (1 child)

now only if i had an array of these i might be able to create fire with a Galaxy Note 7

[–]Battlingdragon 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you've got a lithium battery and a knife, you can have a fire. Once.

[–]phedre 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Please tell me they have a kickstarter or something. This is AMAZING and the perfect gift for a friend of mine.

[–]a678912 0 points1 point  (1 child)

I wonder if it gives a high enough charge for emergency radio? I see some speak of no cell towers, but shortwave radio might still be an option.

[–]AndersLund 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My thought is that there's a battery in the emergency radio and you only use it for emergencies. So no charging needed while you're on the go.

[–]Farkergud 0 points1 point  (0 children)

At least you can charge while on the map before figuring out where you are on the current output.

[–]tedlasman 0 points1 point  (1 child)

Having to take your phone or other device out in the cold for an extended time to charge it isn't that great for the batteries.

[–]AndersLund 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Make an extension cable that goes into your tent/sleeping bag - temperature problem solved.

[–]karlmoebius 0 points1 point  (1 child)

http://www.jamesdysonaward.org/projects/micro-wind-turbine/

I'm always wary of someone promising me a thing without technical specs, or hooking up a multimeter to the output under either ideal (wind tunnel) or real life conditions. But in the most ideal method, to generate the stated 5w of power, that thing's spinning at ~10hz, and I'm not seeing it spin at ~10hz. While the closest solar panels are around ~1ft x ~1ft for the same max wattage. https://www.amazon.com/Sunforce-50022-Battery-Trickle-Charger/dp/B0006JO0TC

I'm also curious if it going to be anything more than an interesting concept, I expect that in october there's going to be a delay or a problem, and the next "new release" date will be sometime middle next year.

So color me skeptical.

[–]littlebunnyf00foo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

without technical specs, or hooking up a multimeter to the output under either ideal (wind tunnel) or real life conditions.

The website you linked literally has photos of them testing it in a wind tunnel (at EPFL) and in real life conditions (in the Swiss Alpes).

to generate the stated 5w of power, that thing's spinning at ~10hz, and I'm not seeing it spin at ~10hz

Where did you get 10hz from? Blades don't have to spin at a certain frequency to generate electricity. You can easily see this by looking at how slow (rotationally) wind farms spin. The speed it needs is all dependent on the generator, gearing, and torque output from the blades.

While the closest solar panels are around ~1ft x ~1ft for the same max wattage

But that panel does not have the voltage regulators for a USB output. It's designed to charge 12v lead acid batteries. And it's not light enough to really backpack with, so I really wouldn't compare those two products.

So color me skeptical.

Fair enough, just don't be overly skeptical. This is not something crazy hard to produce as a working prototype, it's the manufacturing that's the issue.

[–]jabackes 0 points1 point  (1 child)

Is nobody else going to mention the part of the .gif that says, "A prototype has already been constructed"? I mean, no fucking duh, its in the video. What are they using if not the prototype to give an example in the video!?

[–]AndersLund 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It could be a mock-up for the video, that's not actually working.

[–]pm_me_your_kindwords 0 points1 point  (0 children)

As he plugged in the phone I couldn't help thinking "I sure hope it doesn't rain".

Seems like you'd need to bring a long enough cord to reach your tent, or have a waterproof bag for it that can let the cord through.

[–]eternal_septuagint 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is neat.

[–]Brain_Beam 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I can plug my phone into 2 potatoes and get the charge screen to come up. Your move.

[–]HempCO719 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Better hide that from the govmt

[–]ryland52586 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah but I won't get service out there.

[–]mspk7305 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Does anyone else have a problem with this type of animation? Like it seems to be putting emphasis on stupid things with the color variation...

[–]DoctorDeath 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So... what if I had like 50 of these on the roof of my house?

[–]PM_ME_SHIHTZU_PICS 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I feel that I could have come up with this, but my design would have been more shake weight in nature and probably less useful.

[–]BrianScissorhands 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Micro wind turbine seems to be a bit of an overstatement, when this much smaller wind powered generator has been on the market for years http://www.hymini.com/html/HYmini.html

[–]bradtwo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for finally make this... from all of us who never leave our cubical's.

[–]skrazz [score hidden]  (0 children)

Did i just watch a commercial?

[–]dummyreplicant 0 points1 point  (4 children)

how does it transform the kinetic energy to electricity ? I can't picture how a generator fits in there

[–]CestMoiIci 4 points5 points  (1 child)

Magnets and coils of wire. Just like pretty much every other generator in existence

[–]Seminal_Sound 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes, but how do magnets werk??!

[–]LongUsername 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A generator is just a fixed magnet DC motor run in reverse. If you take a motor, hook it to a voltmeter and spin the shaft it will generate a current and you'll read a voltage.

[–]TheNerdyOne_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A generator is just a coil of wire and a magnet, it doesn't need to be very big at all. It looks like the generator is in the larger section just below the actual "blades" of the turbine.

[–]0ttr 0 points1 point  (0 children)

cool... a small shut-up-and-take-my-money moment, though I think I'd prefer to build one from scratch myself.