Video: An Inflatable, Flying Turbine Goes Higher to Find Stronger Winds

I see a future for this thing.

Why not make it funnel shaped so it can concentrate winds and add deflectors that can be opened and closed to allow more or less wind to enter the funnel so it doesn't self destruct in high winds?

Good idea but the final product can be a lot better than the power a simple cylindrical shape would provide.

I want one to power my house.

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Science sees no further than what it can sense, i.e. facts.
Religion sees beyond the senses, i.e. faith.
Open your mind and see!

"temporary source of relatively consistent power anywhere off the grid."

Is there a reason it cant be a permanent source of relatively consistent power anywhere off the grid? Ti seems like it could be cheaper to operate then a traditional wind turbine with access to more reliable power.

I know someone who argues that if society became dependent on wind turbines for power the resulting energy lost in the movement of the atmosphere could lead to climate shifts just as dramatic as those caused by global warming. Don't know if that's true, but there is no such thing as a free lunch. Energy will never be "free" no mater where it comes from.

@Bomb20
Scientific American had an article about one such paper.
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=how-wind-turbines-affect-temperature

But for energy production I support the use of Yellowstone and it's immense lava dome. Calculations show it has the potential to provide 100% of all of American's energy needs--forever. You just need a method to extract all that heat and then it won't build up the dome and blow us apart every 650,000 years either.

Isn't someone developing fabric with solar cell technology? Use that for the inflatable shell and a greater energy harvest on sunny days.

I love this thing. Not becuse it might work but that it proves my childhood belief in the innovation of mankind (and, of course women-kind but I don't know the word for that), ESPECIALLY Americans. I don't believe that Americans are any better than anyone else. I believe that our Founding Fathers set up a sytem in which innovation is rewarded. That is why that even tough I am a father, I have few worries for my children. My Dad saw the Hoover Damn being built and then, after being graduated from the Naval Academy became Regional Manager of the entire Colorado River Aqueduct. Including the dam, the pumping plant, the electricity to move that water up five separate mountains ad the dow again but never at a slope of more that 1' per mile. That project now provides water to over 18,000,000 people. CA would be a desert without it.

But that's not my point. My point is that when the educated see a problem, they will fix it. But only at the crises point. SoCal needed water so we got them water at the crisis point. SoCal was choking on smog so we solved that problem, at the crises point. Our next problem is more fresh water (and energy) and we will solve those at their crisis points.

The lights are not going to go out in California and we are not going to die of thirst. My advice? Send your kids to school and don't let them major in "??????? Studies."

@Michael Taylor

I believe it is temporary because more than one is being used. As in one goes up, works for a while, then swaps places with one on the ground. This way there is always power generated while still allowing for service and upkeep.

I still want one of these over my house, providing me power!

.............................
Science sees no further than what it can sense, i.e. facts.
Religion sees beyond the senses, i.e. faith.
Open your mind and see!

when we gonna learn from our mistakes.first we made samthing, then realize its economically not wort.like excavator use large amount off power (born fuel making heat ,using oil sound around terrible,vibration) to make one scoop of dirt .take from one plays to another .and like solar panels cost millions to produce millions to install = result ,who cares ,nabor told me its wort, so i need one .we have like nano technology.more from nature wind power,like electricity from heat,its complicated i now.there is no easy way.to make live easer.