New Delhi: Scientists have developed a biomimetic tree that is capable of generating electricity.
The technology developed by researchers at Iowa State University in the US may help people charge household appliances without the need for large wind turbines.
Scientists built a device that mimics the branches and leaves of a cottonwood tree and generates electricity when its artificial leaves sway in the wind.
Michael McCloskey, who led the design of the device, said the concept would not replace wind turbines, but the technology could spawn a niche market for small and visually unobtrusive machines that turn wind into electricity.
"The possible advantages here are aesthetics and its smaller scale, which may allow off-grid energy harvesting," McCloskey.
"We set out to answer the question of whether you can get useful amounts of electrical power out of something that looks like a plant. The answer is 'possibly,' but the idea will require further development," he said.
McCloskey said cell phone towers in some urban locations, such as Las Vegas, have been camouflaged as trees, complete with leaves that serve only to improve the tower's aesthetic appeal.
(With PTI inputs)
