Sort of...

using the same material that's used in kites

http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/industry/4224763....

thats actually pretty cool. wish i would have thought of it first.

that's one of the most innovative things I've seen in a long time.

That is very cool I cant believe it moved that clock.

I wonder if they could make it bigger.
and i you could take that with you to run a generator when you fly kites.

I wonder how effective it would be on a bigger scale or if there were any issues with magnetic fields and birds....
Very cool - its cheap and probably easier to build and transport than turbine style.

Yea it could hurt the birds if it hit them while it was vibrating.

Belts are still safer to birds than giant turbine blades. :D
The last I read, the inventor said that scaling up is still a question - though it should be simple enough to try!
They believe multiple, small, cheap windbelts would supply enough energy instead. Also there was discussion of putting them on building corners and in airducts to power small monitoring appliances.

If you google around, you'll see the Europeans experimenting with generating energy from linear pull or turbine rotation using powerfoils flown in the jet-stream.

Those UFO SAM rotor kites also have an incredibly strong, vibrating pull for their small surface area, as well as the fast rotor motion. Already someone is developing kite/blimp hybrid rotors for power generation. It makes a lot of sense to me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlSHH_djn94

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GractDA9IBU

Some of the most unique things about this invention is:

1 - its very cheap to build, using inexpensive materials. Probably cost around 10-20 bucks for everything.

2 - the only moving component is a strip of material - mylar coated dacron or ripstop. If it ever failed you could replace it for under a buck.

3 - its super small meaning you could mount a bunch of these on a house without any need for zone variances or large open areas, also it has minimal moving parts being much safer to others than giant turbines or huge generators. I have been trying to figure a way to put a turbine (windmill) at my home but because of location and logistics I don't think there would ever be a way to do it. This opens up many new doors.

3 - it generates free power and with very simple mounting, it could vein in the wind for optimum production. This is an incredible invention and can only get better as more people start to tinker with it.

Very exciting to watch, maybe the wind will end up changing the way we develop power....have to see.