Organism Inspired Wave Power

Wave power has been in the news a fair amount this year with announcements of test generators being built in Oregon and Scotland, but Australia based Bio Power Systems is offering a unique and intriguing take on the design challenges it involves. Most wave power generators come in the form of tethered buoys or submerged tidal turbines, BioPower has looked for design inspiration from the form factors of aquatic plants and animals. The resulting generator concepts may look like mechanical shark fins but they promise to be much more survivable in extreme conditions while achieving greater energy conversion than traditional designs.