October 13, 2005

You are a solar power plant

Filed under: design — sparkrobot @ 9:44 pm

After all, this is the 21st century. I don’t know what happened along the way… where are all the flying cars?

Voltaic has created a backpack that uses three built-in voltaic solar panels to make a backpack a mobile power generator. The bag can power devices like cell phones, mp3 players, digital cameras, PDAs etc. Three models include a daypack, a backpack and a smaller, laptop-sized “pouch”. According to Voltaic, “They generate up to 4 watts of power, enough to charge most portable electronics.. A typical cell phone will take 4-6 hours to charge in direct sun- see approximate.”.

Cell phones and iPods aren’t exactly pumping huge amounts of greenhouse gas into the air, but still going green a little at a time seems like a worthwhile endeavor, and this is a well-designed pack suitable for urban use or on trips outdoors. A day of snowboarding, and the tunes don’t stop. Pretty cool.

Since I am not the owner of this – or any other – million dollars ideas, I commute from Tacoma to Seattle everyday for work. Instantly, I spot potential charging up the devices I carry with me. Example: If my iPod died, I wouldn’t have to listen to the shit-talking lady on the Sounder train who can’t get off her cell phone (and suffers from voice immodulation disorder) if I could simply jack in on the spot.

Where was this when I lived in Tucson? 360 days a year of direct sunlight and I find this while living in Tacoma. Now I understand. If the sun came out more in Washington, we might have flying cars by now.

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I’m Listenin’ to:
Restess Sinner from the album “Howl” by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

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