Anyone who has been caught in a torrential downpour knows that rain can be pretty powerful stuff. That’s why the Lightdrops umbrella prototype is so ingenious. The polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) umbrella features a “collective membrane” that powers its LED lights with energy from the rain.
Japanese telecommunications company NTT claims that it is developing shoes that generate electricity upon movement. The shoes generate 1.2 watts of electricity— enough to power an iPod forever if the wearer doesn’t stop walking.
Most small renewable energy chargers rely on solar power or more recently, kinetic energy. The Mini Kin takes a different approach—wind power.
What happened to the ODO Twirl n’ Take? We first saw the wind up camera in 2007 when our friends over at Engadget posted the pics below. Then, today AOL’s Green Channel at Switched had more video from Engadget posted.
Shouldn’t a strenuous run provide something more than a rush of endorphins? Something, perhaps, like power to charge your cell phone? M2E Power agrees. The company, which works with kinetic motion technology, announced plans today to release a portable charger for mobile devices sometime next summer. The charger, which is … [continued]
