Energy Bracelet Provides Juice For Quick iPhone Chats
9:27 am, July 1st, 2009, Ed Sutherland
Dyson Energy Bracelet converts body temperature to electricity.
Are you tired of walking, running or otherwise moving to eek a bit of electricity from the numerous gadgets converting kinetic energy into power for your iPhone?
Get ready for extra talk time for just being alive. The Dyson Energy Bracelet converts the temperature difference between your body and the surrounding environment into enough electricity to talk a few more minutes on your favorite Apple communications device.
The bracelet includes a mini USB connection which Apple and other cell phone makers earlier this week approved as a universal standard (at least in Europe) for recharging mobile phones, starting in 2010. A price and distribution date have yet to be announced. More information is available at Yanko Design.
Unlike the Viber Burst kinetic device we talked about recently, the Dyson bracelet employs the thermoelectric effect to convert body temperature into electricity. Although the thermoelectric effect is commonly used in temperature sensors, it can also be used to generate power. (Here’s a fuller explanation of the science behind the gadget.)
Recharge your iphone using kinetic energy
Until now, most human-produced cell phone chargers have used kinetic energy. Australian design student Josh Pell created the Viber Burst, a cell phone charger created with flexible components that can be tied to your shoe, thrown in your bag or held in your hand during a walk or run.
Earlier this month, Tremont Electric unveiled its nPower PEG (Personal Energy Generator, which can recharge a cell phone with just an hour of activity. The inventor, Aaron LeMieux, came upon the idea after walking the 1,500-mile Appalachian Trail.
Nokia earlier this year also introduced a way to harvest energy that usually goes to waste. Nokia’s UK researchers developed a way for its phones to collect 50 milliwatts of ambient energy produced by radio waves from TV towers, Wi-Fi transmissions and elsewhere. Phones using the technology will appear in the next three to five years, according to Britain’s The Guardian.
(Via EnviroGadget)
Posted by Ed Sutherland in News | Comment on this article
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applestories's status on Wednesday, 01-Jul-09 16:30:15 UTC - Identi.ca, on July 1st, 2009 at 9:30 am
The hard question for me is whether or not these devices produce any sort of useful power output. Baygen (now Freeplay) produced a useful wind-up radio and flashlight by focusing on reduced power consumption.
Exactly how much power does the Dyson Energy Bracelet produce? Seems like the military could really make use of this with an entire suit of thermoelectric material in order to supply power for battlefield electronics.
Thermoelectric power isn’t new. The Pioneer and Voyager spacecraft used radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs). Basically, it’s a thermocouple connected to a mass of radioactive material. Massive, certainly, with all the shielding, but about the only reliable source for decades-long power.
Bill Coleman, on July 1st, 2009 at 11:45 am
Hi there!
Thanks for your interest in the Dyson Energy concept.
Just wanted to let you know that this isn’t a Dyson product, rather a student entry in the 2009 James Dyson Award.
You can vote for it at http://www.jamesdysonaward.org.
Thanks again for your interest!
Shanon Pirchmoser, on July 2nd, 2009 at 5:44 pm
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