David Culp of KiteShip spoke on "21st Century Uses for Kites" at the Fourth National Citizen Science Conference. In 1718 a kite pulled a 12-year old Benjamin Franklin across a small lake. David Culp's goal is that ocean ships will be towed across the world's oceans by huge kites (Fig. 1).

Figure 1.Visual illustration of a kite towing a large ship. Illustration for KiteShips by Michael Crumpton.

The Citizen Scientist has received the following update from KiteShips:

This is the first in an occasional series of news updates from KiteShip, innovators in tethered flight, and builders of large traction kites designed to reduce fuel consumption for ocean-going commercial shipping.

1. KiteShip was selected last week as winner of the Transportation category in The California Clean Tech Open , an annual, nationwide business plan competition to encourage the development of clean technology companies that provide environmental benefits in renewable energy, energy efficiency, pollution reduction, resource protection, and conservation.

Wide media coverage includes this 2-minute CNET video clip

2. The US Patent Office granted KiteShip's latest US patent, number 7093803 in August, and issue in Europe is pending. This is for a single surface traction kite, entirely self-supporting without spars or inflated chambers. Significantly more cost-effective, lighter and with lower minimum wind requirement than other kite designs.

3. A major US Congress House Armed Services Sub-Committee was briefed earlier this year on Integration of Energy Efficient Propulsion Systems for Future U.S. Navy Vessels . Many ideas from KiteShip's founder Dave Culp and some good KiteShip renderings were included in this brief. This has led to several meetings with the Office of Naval Research, who have been tasked with reducing the Navy's heavy expenditure on fuel oil.

To learn more about KiteShip , please contact Jeremy Walker, CEO, at 650-444-6500, jeremy@kiteship.com ; or Dave Culp, Founder & President at 925-550-6738, dave@kiteship.com .