Wind-powered

Since we first got wind of Saildrone's autonomous USVs back in 2018, they've mapped miles of ocean floor, chased hurricanes, and surveyed remote regions. Now the company is adding a new vessel to tackle near-shore mapping and maritime surveillance.

In July last year, Saildrone launched one its sensor-packed unmanned aquatic drones on a voyage of discovery in the North Pacific, tasked with filling in ocean mapping blanks around Alaska's Aleutian Islands as well as off the coast of California.

The first phase of construction on one of Europe's largest vertical farm projects is now complete, and the first crop of organic salads and herbs is reported ready for delivery to local businesses.

Brazil's original Antarctic research base, built in the 1980s, was destroyed in a blaze in 2012. Estúdio 41 has designed the Antarctic Station Comandante Ferraz to keep scientists safe in some of the most extreme conditions on the planet.

This concept ship, due to sail in 2024, can carry 7,000 cars across the Atlantic in 12 days. It's some 50% slower on average than a comparable diesel ship, but burns next to no fuel thanks to its five colossal wing sails, saving money and emissions.

Scientists at the University of Manchester in the UK have developed flags that are reckoned to be the first to harvest solar and wind at the same time. Not enough to power a house, or even a gadget such as a smartphone, but could be enough for set it and forget it remote sensors.

Last year, Niklas Roy super-sized the music box idea by placing real instruments inside a massive box and got the public to play, erm, tunes by turning a huge hand crank connected to cogs and pulleys. Now, he's created a windmill-powered music box that tinkles away whenever a breeze picks up.​

If you're trying to save power, you generally don't leave your lights on all night. With a few exceptions, however, that's what cities do with their streetlights. A Spanish team is addressing that situation, with a stand-alone streetlight that runs off of both solar and wind power.

How many artificial animals can you encounter on a seaside walk? More than one if you frequent the Dutch coastline where Theo Jansen's moving artworks amble along with the help of their rudimentary senses.

With its Vindskip (or Windship), the Norwegian designers at Lade AS have come up with an intriguing concept for a partly wind-powered "hybrid" merchant ship.

China's Polar Rover is claimed to be the first wind-powered autonomous vehicle used for research in Antarctica.

An Afghan designer has come up with a novel tumbleweed-esque device to find and detonate mines, a device that has evolved from the wind-powered toys he made as a child.