Human body is often blamed to be an inefficient, energy-wasting machine. However, if we consider “energy harvesting” from the human body itself and harness the kinetic aspect of it, it might help us reducing our reliance on alternative resources of energy, like solar power, wind power, etc. Here is a list showing certain innovative and out of the box mechanical devices for generating electricity for your gadgets like cellphones and parallel devices.
• Foot-powered cell phone charger:
Developers: Orange and Gotwind.
The device harnesses kinetic energy from an airbed foot pump that drives an embedded turbine. This energy is then converted into an electrical current that recharges your mobile phone. The company claims that about 1 minute of pumping or 60 pumps can give the user enough charge to use the phone for a 5-minute call. Though the charging system won’t completely charge a dead battery, it could still be a part of your camping emergency kit.
• Mechanical Mobile:
Designer: Mikhail Stawsky.
The Mechanical Mobile generates ample energy to power itself when you spin it around your finger or crank the tip. So, make sure your fingers keep exercising all through the power-generation process.
• Yo-Yo mobile phone charger:
Designer: Emmanuel Hansen.
The hand-held mobile phone charger concept harnesses the kinetic energy generated through playing a yoyo. This energy is then used to juice up your cellphones. Swing it in the air or toss it down, it will generate power as long as it keeps moving.
• iYo induction charger:
Designer: Peter Thuvander.
The yo-yo induction charger, dubbed as iYo, contains a small Li-ion battery inside it that charges with only 30 cranks. Later, electrical gadgets like iPhones, mobile phones or iPads could be plugged into it for charging.
• Finger-powered phone battery:
Designer: Song Teaho and Hyejin Lee.
Expressly meant for tough situations, when you don’t have your charger or an electric point around, you simply need to remove finger-powered battery for a few turns around your index finger and it’s amply charged to last a conservation. Not for a lengthy one, mind you. If you want to talk more, you have to repeat the process.
• M2E portable charger:
Developer: M2E Power.
The portable charger for mobile devices, which is the size of a pack of cards, gathers power from cumulative motion from walking, jogging, cycling, or driving. Six hours of motion provides 30 to 60 minutes of extra power.
• Kinetic energy iPhone charger:
Designer: Mac Funamizu.
The gadget charges your iPhone or other mobile phones by harnessing the kinetic energy of the swing of the golf stick. This charger only has the handgrip and not the actual club, thereby preventing the user from stroking a golf ball with this. By swinging the grip for a specific number of times, sufficient energy is produced to charge mobile phones and other portable gadgets for a couple of hours.
• Watts Maker:
Designer: Oscar L’Hermitte.
The Watts Maker consists of a small kinetic generator that generates power when you pedal to work. While the charging time is just 90 minutes, it keeps on generating energy as long as the wheels keep turning.
• Viber Burst concept charger:
Designer: Josh Pell.
The Viber Burst concept charger harnesses the power of motion, be it in your bag, your hand or your shoes to charge a cellphone. It takes only two seconds to transfer the generated energy into your cellphone’s battery, once the device is fully charged.
• Wearable cellphone:
Developer: NTT DoCoMo.
The concept phone made from recycled materials will be powered by kinetic energy generated from the movements of the user. The cellphone will also be equipped with simultaneous translation software to connect the user to everyone else, anywhere, anytime. It will also be used as an ID to enter the family home or board a flight, a device to video-chat with friends and also a remote control to command the robo-vacuum cleaner.
• Roto Charger:
Developer: ideaForge.
Touted as the world’s first truly sustainable cellphone charger, the Roto Charger recharges cellphones by either cranking the handle or rolling the device on any surface. The device takes just one minute of rotation to provide three minutes of talktime and about 30 minutes of stand-by time.
• Etive - A kinetic energy charger:
Designer: Kyle Toole.
The renewable energy generating system, Etive, is designed to harvest the vibrating shock forces which are concentrated at the knee during the heel strike phase of walking. The current prototype can recharge a 1500mAh NiMH battery in approximately 9 hours, which is comparable to portable solar chargers, and mains AA battery chargers. This power output is achieved by stacking four generator modules. A single generator module produces 3.8V (peak AC). This is enough to fully recharge two mobile phones or an I-pod.
• nPower Personal Energy Generator:
Developer: Tremont Electric.
The device uses kinetic energy to generate electricity. Once you attach it to your hips or your bag while on the move, the up and down movement of your body provide the required kinetic energy to the device. It can charge your devices at the same rate as your wall chargers do. The device is compatible with 90% of handheld devices. PEG can generate up to 4 watts of power and most of the internal components are recyclable.
• HuMo - The Human Dynamo:
Designer: Nick Reddall.
The jacket-like device allows your clothing to harness the kinetic energy produced by body movements. It harvests energy from the normal arm swing of the person wearing it. Interestingly, the power is straight applied to lighting, so that the wearer is always safe whether he is running or walking down the street. The HuMo is able to generate an average of half a watt of power from a normal walking arm swing, which could be used to charge the power-hungry devices. There is a small string laid inside the sleeve that drives a pre-planned linear generator to create a natural feeling and resistance.
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