#1079: Whaleware

Marine creatures are increasingly tagged electronically…both to help preserve their species but also to understand the geophysics of their environment.

One problem with tagging devices is that they contain a large battery, which limits operational life but also pollutes the marine environment when it falls off the animal.

Today’s invention is a very small water turbine device which would use the swimming speed of eg a seal, dolphin, turtle or shark to generate electricity pretty continuously and drive the tag’s electronics.

This could stay on the animal for much longer than a battery powered system, be physically smaller and also be constructed mostly from metal components designed to corrode completely after a long period in salt water.