Exercise Your Hands and Charge Batteries at the Same Time!

Many people make use of the special Chinese pair of balls to exercise their hand and fingers.  Called baoding balls, these two metal balls are said to work like a shiatsu massage or like hand acupuncture, and they have long been used in traditional Chinese medicine.  According to experts, baoding balls stimulate several acupuncture spots on the fingers and the hand that are connected to the lungs, heart, spleen, kidneys, and other organs.  Whether they are helpful in increasing your health or even fighting off things like carpal tunnel has long been debated, and no one really has an answer.

However, whether you believe they work or not, you may be interested in the baoding balls created by Jiang Qian.  Called the Roll Charger, this set of special baoding balls opens up to reveal two intersecting slots: one for an AA battery and one for an AAA battery.  Put a rechargeable battery of either size in each ball and start twirling them around and around in your hand.  The kinetic energy created by moving the balls around is transferred to the batteries, charging them up.

Once your batteries are completely charged, you’ll see a special LED light blink to tell you that you can remove the batteries.  Of course, you can still use the balls for exercise, although they may not weigh quite as much when empty.  What’s great is that these kinds of devices have started appearing everywhere.  After all, movement does create what is essentially free energy.  Your movements make kinetic energy that is not being harnessed in any way, but as devices like the Roll Charger become more and more available, that will all change.

New Kyocera Cell Phone Could Be Charged by Kinetic Energy

You may not think that charging your cell phone uses up that much energy, but think about how often you charge it.  If you have a smart phone or other PDA, you may need to charge your phone every day.  This can add up over the days.  Your cell phone actually uses way more power than you think it does.

But what if there were some way to charge your cell phone without using traditional power?  That’s what Kyocera, one of the larger cell phone manufacturers, has asked themselves.  Kyocera designer Susan McKinney then took this idea and has created a conceptual device she calls the Eos.  Her cell phone folds in thirds, is very flexible, and contains tiny piezoelectric generators.  What do these generators do?  Basically, as you walk and move, these nano-scale generators convert the kinetic energy of your body into power.  While the device will most likely include a traditional charger, the power generated from your body may be enough to power the phone.

In addition to the nano-scale piezoelectric generators, the device has several other very innovative features.  It uses shape memory that brings keys up from the surface of the device when it is in use and fade down when it’s not.  The screen is also very flexible.  It is about the size of a wallet when used for standard phone calls, but it can actually be unfolded to make a larger screen when you need to see more.

While we won’t be seeing this amazing device in stores just yet, Kyocera plans on making use of its many new features in the next few years, so expect to see flexible screens, shape memory, and even a few amazing kinetic energy-powered phones in the future.