We love gadgets that glean energy from everyday actions, so we were thrilled to find this energy-generating rocking chair among this year’s 18 Greener Gadgets Design Competition finalists. Perfect for on-the-go travelers at airports or cafes, the Empower chair harnesses kinetic energy from its swing and makes it available via usb and standard outlets so that you can talk, text, or type while you rock. Never fight for the last plug at the airport again!
Designed by Ryan Klinger, the Empower chair is made from recyclable materials and can be completely flatpacked for easy shipping. The glider’s hinges are hooked up to a kinetic energy generator and a lithium ion battery that stores energy every time you swing, and low-energy LED lights give you the heads up on how much power you’ve created.
This year’s design competition is now closed to online voting, but there’re still a few days left to reserve your spot at the Greener Gadgets Conference to catch the exciting live judging of this year’s entries. The deadline is this Friday, so register today, and use the code BLOG10 for a 10% discount!
+ Empower
+ Greener Gadgets Conference
Great article Mike. I really wish that I could write my thoughts as professionally as you do. Don’t get me wrong, I do always enjoy articles graciously presented by inhabitat.com but if I may? I think I would have wrote,,,,
“Now Retiree’s, Can Now Power America”
Just in time when all our baby boomers are about to start retiring, a new invention will allow them to work off the debt they were planing to leave their kids and grand kids. Imagine them as they while way their retirement years generating electricity which will be sold to pay off their part of the national debt . … After a while I would mention how , I can’t present any numbers because I don’t want to spoil it for all the readers who will bring up this point (comment after comment…) , or blow it for the others who say this is a “really great Idea” .
Such is the devil in me ; )
To inhabitat.com and your writers, please keep reporting on every new concept you come across, both the practical and impractical. While reporting on practical concepts and exposing them to the light of day, you might help them to grow from the seeds they are, into real products for sale.
To all readers, I believe by reporting the impractical, these articles could be a spark for any reader, who might conceive a truly new and unique concept. I’d await for these sparks fly my way and set fire to my imagination. SS
I think you get the idea.
nice to have an outlet to put idle time to good use! Although I prefer the design of power generating rocker by Murikami: http://www.urbansherp.com/a-rocking-chair-that-generates-electricity
nice design. can i know further information on how they make this chair, i mean how they fix the device that can convert kinetic energy into electrical energy? anyone can answer my question? and is this chair is available in market and if so how much is the cost? someone please reply me, thank you,
