Good Thinking

Self-fueled work station concept generates energy while you sit

Self-fueled work station concept generates energy while you sit
Unplugged is a prototype of an office work station that powers devices via energy that is collected off the human body
Unplugged is a prototype of an office work station that powers devices via energy that is collected off the human body
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The prototype was created by Swedish designer Eddi Törnberg as part of his final year thesis at Beckmans College of Design, in Stockholm
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The prototype was created by Swedish designer Eddi Törnberg as part of his final year thesis at Beckmans College of Design, in Stockholm
Incorporating three different modes of self-sustaining energy, the project is designed to power desktop devices while you work
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Incorporating three different modes of self-sustaining energy, the project is designed to power desktop devices while you work
Incorporating three different modes of self-sustaining energy, the project is designed to power desktop devices while you work
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Incorporating three different modes of self-sustaining energy, the project is designed to power desktop devices while you work
The concept takes advantage of one of the most common forms of daily activity and offers a clever idea towards realizing a self-sustaining future
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The concept takes advantage of one of the most common forms of daily activity and offers a clever idea towards realizing a self-sustaining future
Unplugged storage space
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Unplugged storage space
The office chair takes advantage of the thermoelectric effect, which converts temperatures into an electric current
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The office chair takes advantage of the thermoelectric effect, which converts temperatures into an electric current
Unplugged LED overhead lamp
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Unplugged LED overhead lamp
Unplugged LED overhead lamp
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Unplugged LED overhead lamp
The plant in the corner is not just for aesthetics or clean air, but Törnberg taps into the plant’s microbial fuel cell
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The plant in the corner is not just for aesthetics or clean air, but Törnberg taps into the plant’s microbial fuel cell
When someone walks over the carpet square or rolls the office chair back and forth the crystals release energy
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When someone walks over the carpet square or rolls the office chair back and forth the crystals release energy
Unplugged is a prototype of an office work station that powers devices via energy that is collected off the human body
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Unplugged is a prototype of an office work station that powers devices via energy that is collected off the human body
View gallery - 11 images

Unplugged is an office work station of the future concept that envisions powering your electronic devices via energy collected off the human body. The prototype was created by Swedish designer Eddi Törnberg as part of his final year thesis at Beckmans College of Design, in Stockholm, and you will be pleased to know that it doesn’t mean you'd be required to pedal away while you work. In fact all you would have to do is move about your office as normal, sit in your chair and let the heat of your body do the rest.

Incorporating three different modes of self-sustaining energy, this future office would see energy generated from the movement of a person walking across carpet, from the body heat of sitting in a chair and from the process of photosynthesis that occurs in plants.

The office carpet would incorporate piezo-electric elements that have been woven into the fabric. When someone walks over the carpet square or rolls the office chair back and forth, energy can be then collected and put to use. Meanwhile the plant in the corner is not just for aesthetics or clean air - similar to the Moss Table prototype which was developed by designers and scientists at the University of Cambridge, Unplugged draws energy from the plant’s natural process of photosynthesis.

Finally a thermoelectric office chair would convert temperatures into an electric current using the heat of the human body. Naturally the seat warms up when you sit in it while the base metal elements remains cold and it is the difference between these two temperatures that allows an energy current to be generated.

While it is unlikely that Törnberg's prototype can actually generate enough energy to power a laptop (or even a desk lamp) the idea gives us food for thought as energy-harvesting technology evolves along with low-energy consumption electronic devices .

Source: Eddi Törnberg via The Atlantic Cities

View gallery - 11 images
4 comments
4 comments
Slowburn
Small scale electrical production is a good thing but it would help to look at things with a little more energy potential like putting generators on the door to the toilet.
Atul Malhotra
rotating doors with small dynamos fit into them (in every building which has lots of users ) makes much better sense
kellory
Don't forget waste water turbines or water wheel generators. We send a great deal of water down the drain.
Gregg Eshelman
The Matrix 0.01