Biomimicry
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Hummingbird Inspired Wind Turbines

Hummingbird Inspired Wind Turbines | Biomimicry | Scoop.it

"A North African company has developed what it contends is a paradigm-shifting wind turbine technology based on the flapping of hummingbird wings. Any potential paradigm shifts are down the road a bit, but based on some remarkable images and new demo videos, the clean energy machine may be the prettiest wind turbine ever invented. Developed by Tyer Wind, a startup based in Tunisia, the turbine uses biomimicry principles to replicate the mechanical action of hummingbird wings. The design is fundamentally different from standard rotor-based wind turbines because instead of converting linear motion - wind blowing across the land - into a circular motion, it converts it into a figure-eight pattern. Not only is that shape the same as the one hummingbird wings make while the birds hover, but it also generates energy on both the upstroke and the downstroke.

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Hummingbirds are the 'Jewels of the Jungle' Yet Their Iridescent Plumes are Pigment Free

Hummingbirds are the 'Jewels of the Jungle' Yet Their Iridescent Plumes are Pigment Free | Biomimicry | Scoop.it

"Beating its tiny wings up to 80 times a second a hummingbird will dart from flower to flower, its iridescent plumage dazzling in the tropical sun. But these busy birds are con artists. Their feathers are pigment-free, the colours the product of microscopic structures that refract sunlight like a prism, spraying out its reds, blues and greens."

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Hummingbirds’ Unique Way of Seeing Prevents Them From Crashing

Hummingbirds’ Unique Way of Seeing Prevents Them From Crashing | Biomimicry | Scoop.it

"Hummingbirds have a unique collision avoidance system built into their brains that allows them to perform high-speed aerobatics in safety. The super-agile birds, whose wings beat up to 70 times a second, can hover, fly backwards, and whizz through dense vegetation at more than 50 kilometres per hour. How they manage to avoid potentially fatal crashes has remained a mystery until now. Researchers in Canada conducted a series of experiments which showed that the birds process visual information differently from other animals. As they dart and dive at speed, they judge distance from the way looming objects appear to get bigger, and vice versa."

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