Recharge Your Laptop without Plugging It In
MIT students have come up with a way to recharge your laptop without plugging it in. Rather than consuming electricity, you’ll be burning calories—your own.
The students designed and built an exercise bicycle that uses “pedaling power” to charge a laptop computer. As the bike’s instructions note, if you have trouble “squeezing in that daily exercise,” you can now “multitask with no problem—[you can] bike while you work!”
The bike seat is adjustable and the laptop easily moved, so a person of any height can produce an arrangement that’s comfortable and ergonomic for both pedaling and computing. A cover over the wheel ensures that the rider’s clothing won’t get caught, and a clear plastic box encloses the electrical components but leaves them visible to curious observers.
In preliminary calculations, the students predicted that a bicyclist should be able to produce up to 75 watts continuously—far more than the 30 watts needed to power the laptop. Indeed, in an initial test drive, team member Figari easily generated 50 watts while checking his e-mail.
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