How to Charge Your Gadgets Just by Walking
We need every ounce of motivation we can get to move our butts, but this one might actually work. AMPY is a wearable that captures your kinetic energy and turns it into juice for a charger, so you can rev up your phone or another USB-powered device. It will even STORE the energy, meaning you don’t necessarily have to go skip and hop around when you see your phone dying. But actually you should, because that would be funny.
AMPY is currently raising funds on Kickstarter, though they have already shattered their original goal, which means it’s really happening, guys. When this little thing ships (not ’til June 2015), you’ll be able to charge your phone using the power generated from either an average day of walking, an hour-long bike ride or a quick 30-minute run. That’ll make it last another three hours, and the same charge will power smartwatches and fitness trackers even longer. When you’re on the go, the last thing you want to do is wait around, plugged into a wall outlet, and AMPY charges your phone just as fast as a standard charger. You can even put it in your pocket or purse while it’s juicing up your cell!
The device’s internal battery should store about a week’s worth of activity, which can be used for months to come. While we highly recommend tying it to your dog’s collar and letting him do the work for you (as seen in their Kickstarter video), you can also charge AMPY by plugging it into the wall the old-fashioned way.
But the point is, you might not ever need to do that if you can charge your things so easily without an ounce of on-the-grid power. Not only does this thing promise to provide a reliable and renewable source of clean energy, but it also tracks your calories and carbon footprint offset from using the device, so you can get a glimpse of this win-win situation in metrics form. We, however, don’t need too much more convincing.
Would you use a charger like this? Why or why not?
