Wind-powered

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.

New York's Urban Green Energy has installed the world's first fully integrated wind-powered electric vehicle charging station in Barcelona.

The Holonic Streetlamp harnesses both sunlight and wind to provide light when the Sun goes down.

Green Energy innovator Ecotricity has unveiled plans to install a national network of electric vehicle charging points powered by renewable energy, one of which is the first in the world to get its power directly from a wind turbine.

A television host and an engineer from Germany have completed an almost 5,000 km (3,107 mile) journey across Australia in their Wind Explorer, a lightweight electric vehicle powered by the wind.

Dutch designer Tjeerd Veenhoven has constructed a prototype wind-powered iPhone charger called the iFan from a custom rubber case and computer fan