Makani Power will become part of Google X – the secretive research and development arm of the search giant. The deal comes as Makani carries out the first fully autonomous flights of robot kites bearing its power-generating propellers.  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-22636565  The firm has just successfully completed tests on a 30 kW prototype to see if its control system lets it launch, hover, generate power and land without human intervention. Power is generated by the wing flying in a circular path, with electricity transmitted to the ground via the conducting core of the tether.

Google X is the “big ideas” arm of the search firm that is tasked with testing out ideas outside the normal remit of the larger company. The lab has given rise to Google’s self-driving car initiative and did the early work on its augmented spectacles.