Could cuttlefish locomotion point us in the direction of better ways to harness wind energy?
Undula Tech has developed an inspiring answer to that question. Founded in 2016, Undula Tech is still a growing company and we are dedicated to making renewable power accessible and affordable to the billions of people who need it with the Undula Generator.
The Undula Generator is a biomimetic device that removes the need for expensive towers, lowers the risk and cost of installation, and is more cost effective than traditional wind turbines. Currently, a small residential wind turbine costs upwards of $40,000-60,000 a third of that cost being the tower. This puts wind energy far outside the reach of many individuals. The Undula Generator, by being tower-less, removes that cost. The device is designed to be installed directly on rooflines, or the sides of tall buildings, or even on the ground on highways, where traffic creates air flow.
The Undula Generator may also have the potential to act as a hydro generator, after all the inspiration for the design does live in the ocean. If functional, the Undula Generator could be a more cost effective solution to incredibly costly hydro dams. While hydropower is currently one of the most efficient ways of generating renewable energy, it is incredibly harmful to the environment around it. If functional, the Undula Generator could be an effective alternative to traditional hydro with little or no impact to the wildlife or terrain around it. It may also have potential as a tidal generator. Undula Tech is dedicated to finding a way to make renewable energy cost effective and accessable to those who need it most.
team
The founder of Undula Tech, Louisa Ulrich-Verderber, grew up as an metal sculptor and natural history lover. The inspiration for her sculptural work was nearly always nature, and from a young age she learned that biology and evolution were talented artists and teachers.
In high school, she became intensely fascinated by the field of biomimicry. A discipline that looks to nature first for inspiration and solutions to modern problems. Also an avid science lover and environmentalist, Louisa hoped to find a way to use this field of study to help the planet in some way. The Undula Generator began as a simple doodle inspired by one of her favorite animals, the cuttlefish. That doodle has now blossomed into a promising, patent pending, invention. For the past five years, Louisa and her advisors have worked to turn her idea into a proof of concept, and now our first prototype.
Undula Tech’s team consists of founder and CEO, Louisa Ulrich-Verderber, her advisors at the Shipley Center for Innovation at Clarkson University, Professor of Aeronautical Engineering Ken Visser, and Stuart Meyer of Fenwick & West LLP, a veteran innovation attorney from Silicon Valley. Currently, their positions are advisory, however, the next phase for our startup is to get our generator design to peak optimization. We are currently looking for licensing partners.
Louisa is a 2020 Engineering & Management graduate from Clarkson University. She was a finalist and participant of 2019’s Biomimicry Launchpad and returned as a coach and mentor for the 2020 cohort. Her work was featured in the year-long exhibit Learning from Nature: The Future of Design at the Museum of Design Atlanta.
As a welding artist, she has been creating sculptures both large and small for 10 years. Her work to date can be found at beaspark.com.
You can view her other projects and work at louisauv.com.