Our reliance on fossil fuels to power our energy needs has resulted in dangerous levels of atmospheric pollution. Renewable energy sources such as wind power offer us the possibility to produce clean, affordable electricity. Portable wind power generators are good adjunct power sources but most are bulky and expensive. There lies an opportunity for the design of a low price, high performance power generator.

WindPod is a portable wind power generator, efficiently powering personal electronics. Light weight and compact, it packs snuggly in any backpack, unpacks and is set up in less than one minute. Affordable, it is a handy tool for campers, wildlife photographers, explorers, or emergency and rescue medical teams.

The challenge lies in designing a power generator that is efficient, light, collapses in no time, is structurally sturdy while technically reliable and durable, and is cheap to make.