Dean Kamen files patent application for an inflatable, illuminated wind turbine

Inflatable wind turbines may not be an entirely new idea, but prolific inventor Dean Kamen has detailed one of a slightly different sort in a recently published patent application. In addition to generating energy for general use, the turbine would also be able to power a set of LEDs adorning the turbine itself, which could be used to display advertising or other information using a persistence of vision effect. The application even suggests that multiple turbines could be linked together and synchronized to form one large billboard. Of course, it is still just that, a patent application — but it is assigned to Kamen’s DEKA company, so it may not be quite as far off from reality as some other applications. Dean Kamen files patent application for an inflatable, illuminated wind turbine originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 17 Sep 2011 18:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

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