The Di Pietro rotary air engine is, according to researchers, the most efficient air engine on earth. This rotary piston design from Engineair Pty Ltd out of Australia, has managed to reduce the friction inside this motor to zero. Yep thats right I said zero as in zero, zilch, nada. Now in order to achieve this zero friction, it takes 1 PSI of air pressure to form the air pocket that is needed to create a thin air cushion which stops the friction.
Beyond that 1 PSI, the motor speed and torque is governed by the amount of pressure of air that goes into the motor. This allows instant torque at zero rotations per minute (RPMs), which can be precisely controlled to either give the motor an instant start or soft start.
This revolutionary motor was first envisioned in 1997 by Mr Angelo Di Pietro and the company, Engineair Pty Ltd, first opened its doors in September of 2000. Engineair spent its first 2 years prototyping and testing and gradually increasing the efficiency of their motor to what it is today. Currently Engineair is in the process of commercializing its technology and developing joint ventures to see this technology used in a variety of different applications.