Salter's Duck

Salter's duck, also known as the nodding duck or by its official name the Edinburgh duck, is a device that converts wave power into electricity. Wave impacts cause the pear-shaped body to rock back and forth, and this motion turns gyroscopes housed inside the mechanism, which drive an electrical generator that its inventor reported could reach efficiencies of up to 90 percent in converting wave motion into power. It was developed by Stephen Salter during the 1970s energy crisis and was among the earliest devices proposed for the United Kingdom's Wave Energy programme, a national research effort whose funding was cut in the early 1980s before the technology reached commercial deployment.