Showing posts with label Google Makani. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Google Makani. Show all posts

Wednesday 23 September 2015

Google will Fly a Crazy, Plane-like, 84-Foot Wind Turbine Next Month


Makani
The tech giant Google has some extraordinary plans, which might seem futuristic and quite far-fetched in reality but still is worth counting. Google has one of its pet project which aims at gathering the wind energy not from the ground from the higher altitudes where wind possesses more power through stronger and reliable blowing. Google has earlier tested the prototypes of its flying wind turbine with capabilities of harnessing energy from the wind in higher altitudes. Now Google will be launching its 84-foot wind turbine next month at SXSW.

Features of Google Wind Turbine


Google turbines are very much different from the general wind turbines, which are usually seen along the US coastline. It is more like planes, which are equipped with eight propellers and tethered to a docking station. Once it is released from the ground it can hover up to 450 meters in the air and it should be noted that this is the altitude at which planes usually starts doing the circles in the sky. The drag helps turning the propellers on this exciting piece of machine into turbines, which has the ability to send back 6+00 kilowatts of energy harnessed from the wind back to the ground.

Google has long been working on the wind turbines and it has even bought a part in the energy company named Makani Power in 2013 for this purpose. It has also made a number of tests with prototypes with a 28 feet wind turbines but it will be flying a more robust 84 feet wind turbine possessing the ability to harness more power easily.

Prior testing helps in boosting confidence


Google has performed extensive testing in the past to ensure the stability and reliability of the wind in the harsher and much challenging environment found at the higher altitudes. Google indulged in performing the tests on its futuristic wind turbines in one of the windiest places in the whole of North America namely Pigeon Pint in Pescerado California.

The challenges faced by the Google tech were quite pressuring and compelling in every manner but they held their ground and ensured that the product offers the most remarkable results regardless of difficulties. At higher altitudes, the speed of wind can easily change by 20 miles per hour within a matter of few seconds and the direction can change by 90 degrees within a second. However, it is worth noting that wind turbines failed to be let down by the wind changes at all and performed in the most efficient and best manner.

Google X’s Astro Teller has also stated while chatting with the media and smaller crowd of tech enthusiasts that they had done all those tests on smaller prototypes. The testing crew was advised by the Larry Page to make sure they get their wind turbines crashes as many five times in order to ensure it offers best solutions for harnessing energy. But luckily Google techs were able to do it without crashing even once.