In our modern world we are always moving, whether we are commuting in cars, on foot or by bicycle or during our exercises in our spare time. All of these activities expend energy. But what if we could harness a portion of the energy we expend and store this to be used later?
This may just be the next big energy resource scientists and technologists seek to harness. Kinetic energy has already been researched fairly extensively and a new trend is arising to help those less fortunate to tap into a new energy resource to generate electricity where infrastructure may not provide the capability.
Products have already starting hitting the market such as the Soccket and Pulse released by an up and coming technology company called Uncharted Play. The Soccket is a soccer ball with a pendulum embedded inside it to capture some of the kinetic energy output from kicking the ball around. It also contains an input port that allows children to run reading lights or charge phones from the battery within the ball. The pulse uses similar aspects of the engineering but is applied to a jump rope with the gyroscopes included in the handles of the jump rope.
Some other spins on this technology have already been available on the consumer market and in limited testing with the military using biomechanics to charge a battery. This incorporates an object clipped on a person’s clothing or backpack containing a system of magnets and coils which move and infuse with the wearer’s movements.
Despite the speculation of the potentials to harnessing kinetic energy, the applications of this technology is still in its infancy catering primarily to personal convenience. Although kinetic energy is a renewable energy source its ability to capture significant amounts of electricity has excluded it from being incorporated into large scale energy strategies with the exception of wind energy.
Tags: kinetic energy, renewable energy