Kenyan researcher gets shoes to generate power to charge handsets

Researchers often emerge up with path-breaking ideas for renewable energy production. Kenyan researcher Anthony Mutua has worked out an ultra-thin chip that can be inserted into the soles of shoes to generate power under pressure. Well, as long as you walk or run, you can produce the power required to charge your handsets or other devices. The ultra-thin chip is really a variant of Electro-Kinetic technology, which utilizes the gravity-stimulated pressure from cars to create electricity.

Anthony Mutua demos his technology

The technology harvests energy under the pressure of your foot as you walk or run, Anthony says. The researcher suggests two methods to capture the produced electricity from the chip. The first option is to use a thin extension cable from the chip to the phone in the pocket. The next option is to charge the handset soon after a walk or run taking the crystal chip out of the shoe. But it is not clear how much walking or running would be required to fully charge a device like a phone or others.

Researchers were not keen with the Electro-Kinetic projects like this in the past due to the lack of resulting electricity. But Anthony has received financial support from the Kenya National Council of Science and Technology for the project. The council also funded to mass-produce the chips for energy uses mainly in Africa, which faces extensive energy crisis.

Anthony will demonstrate his new Electro-Kinetic mobile charging technology at the Science and Innovation Week, which will go off at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre in Nairobi this week. Well, once realized and available in stores, the technology will be a great option for people in certain parts of Africa to get their mobiles phones charged up always.

Via: Nation/UberGizmo