Device Turns Your Sneaker into a Portable Cell Phone Charger

By: Megan Treacy
From: http://www.treehugger.com/

harmonica pete/CC BY-SA 2.0

We write a lot about solar powered gadgets and chargers, but the reality is there is also a ton of power to harness from our own bodies. Piezoelectric chargers pop up every now and then but this one seems especially promising.

At the first ever Kenyan Science Technology and Innovation Week, 24-year-old inventor Anthony Mutua showed off a technology that uses your shoe to charge your cell phone or other gadgets while you walk. We most often hear of kinetic energy harvesters embedded in sidewalks, floors or revolving doors, but this idea lets you take that energy harvesting wherever you go.

As CNET reports, Mutua inserted a very thin "crystal chip" in a sneaker that generates energy as the sole bends. The device connects to your phone via a long cable so you can charge your phone in your pocket while you stroll, or alternatively, the device can store power for charging your phone when you arrive at your destination. It can also power multiple gadgets at a time, but you'd probably have to go on a long run to generate enough power for that. Another great reason to exercise though, right?

Android Authority/via

The device can be used in any type of shoe and can be transferred from one shoe to another depending on which pair you want to wear that day.

Kenya's National Council of Science and Technology funded the project with $6,000 so far. Mutua has already patented the technology and there are plans to start commercially producing it soon at a price of $46, including a 2.5 year warranty.

MIT Presents Powered SOFT Rockers to Charge Your Gadgets

by Amanda Smith
from http://3rings.designerpages.com/

SOFT Rocker. Designed by MIT Architecture students.

The concept of people creating power with motion was introduced to me by my spinning studio. It makes complete sense to capture the energy of a room full of people pedaling away like mad men for an hour and use that energy to power the guy taking a stroll on the treadmill. Simple motions are the basis of energy sources like windmills and water wheels, so why not turn human behaviors into energy sources? A group of architecture students at MIT sees the casual act of rocking as the perfect way to charge small electronics.

MIT professor Sheila Kennedy and a group of MIT architecture students developed the SOFT Rocker, which is a rocking chair/lounge chair for the great outdoors. The SOFT Rocker uses the human power of balance to create an interactive 1.5 axis, 35 watt solar tracking system. During daylight hours, the lounger captures solar power in a 12-ampere hour battery.

For maximum power absorption, the curved, solar-panel-covered seats rotate on an axis to keep them facing the sun. Additional energy is generated from the rocking motion created when people climb inside. All the energy that is harvested can be used to recharge gadgets plugged into the three USB ports and to illuminate a light strip on the inside of the loop.

The SOFT Rockers were created for the Festival of Art+Science+Technology (FAST) as an antidote to “conventional ‘hard’ urban infrastructure.

About: MIT is a prestigious Boston based university that reputation for its technology and engineering programs. The School of Architecture and Planning has gotten press in recent years for the construction of the Media Lab, designed by Pritzker Prize-winning Japanese architect Fumihiko Maki. Professor Sheila Kennedy is an expert in the integration of solar cell technology in architecture, changing the way buildings receive and distribute energy.

Perimeter Marble Run RBS

mosignose |

Here is a perimeter marble run around my sons room. The track runs around the entire room near the ceiling. The supports are walnut and a majority of the tracks and other parts are birch. Gear motors are run by "AA" battery packs. The marbles are 1 inch diameter.

Go to the following link for more information on the building of this track:

www instructables com/id/Kinetic-Marble-Track-Ar­ound-The-­Top-Of-A-Room/

Trumer Beer Machine

TrumerPrivatbrauerei |

The Trume Pils Rube Goldberg Machine! Inspired by the Rube-Goldberg-Machine we were able to recreate the brewing process in a new way. Just as the video focuses on fine tuning, we also take the smallest details in mind when brewing our beer! Prost.

Charge Your Phone While You Dance

Clubbers, joggers and hikers, watch out for this: Gotwind’s Dance Charger that uses human movement to charge mobile phones.

Trialed at this year’s Glastonbury music festival, and sponsored by Orange, this clever gadget can be strapped to your arm while you dance the day and night away, and is plugged directly into your phone when it needs charging.

To get technical, the mechanical energy from arm movements is converted into electrical energy by a tiny generator. After converting the current to DC and boosting it, the Dance Charger can charge any portable electrical device you need. Efficiency is estimated at 85%, which is not bad at all when compared to other chargers.

The Dance Charger is still in the concept stage: an hour of vigorous activity registered two bars of battery life on a Nokia N95. However, Gotwind is continuing to develop the idea for greater conversion efficiency and broader uses.

We can’t wait for these to come out, imagine your parents doing a jig to generate some juice, or your boss bopping for battery power in the middle of a meeting. Hours of entertainment.

Source: Gotwind