Swedish Designer Eddi Törnberg has designed the best
human-powered work station we've seen yet because unlike other concepts that
require you to do things like ride a bike while you're working, it doesn't
require a person to do anything more than sit and work. The project, called "Unplugged,"
powers the various gadgets we use to work -- laptops, lamps, etc --through our small
constant movements and body heat.
The desk chair is equipped with a metal seat that gets hot as a
person emits body heat, but the underside stays cools through a pattern of
metal fins. Electricity is produced through the Seebeck Effect where an electric
charge is created when a material is hot or warm on one side, but cool on the
other.
The other energy-harvesting part of this set up is a rug that lies
under the desk that is outfitted with piezoelectric crystals that generate
electricity when pressure is applied to them. Each random shuffle, stomp, and
rolling back and forth of the chair is a source of electricity.
The final part of Unplugged is plant-powered rather than
human-powered. A potted plant provides electrcity through a process similar
to a potato battery.
Unplugged is definitely more of a concept than a working product,
but if this set-up were put to use, it could generate a nice chunk, though
probably not all, of the energy needed to get through the workday.
Wonder how this would work with a pacemaker???
ReplyDeleteNeat ideas all the time. It reminds me of the USN. When we had parties ashore, on liberty or doing business. The Shore Patrol had communications set up on the beach to keep in contact with the ship. When the ship needed to talk they would send a message by lantern. Then a sailor would start pedaling a generator to generate the power to contact the ship via voice com. But that was labor intensive. LOL
ReplyDeleteAs much as I fidget when confined to my cubicle, I could probably power the Pentagon!
ReplyDeleteCool ideas! Science!
ReplyDelete