Children between the ages of 10 and 14 have come up with an ingenious innovation: pedaling to charge your phone. The innovative project, which commenced in the Marosvásárhely/Târgu Mureș-based ForCamp Association‘s “laboratories,” will participate in the international First Lego League competition’s national finals. One device has been placed under a bench in the downtown bus station so that people can charge their phones while waiting simply by pedaling.
The big box, which includes the generator that transforms the pedaling into electricity to charge the phone, was developed by some creative kids in the ForCamp Association’s robotics group. The prototype, which fosters green energy and also encourages physical activity, was the winning project in the regional First Lego League competition, Gergely Bartha, the association’s leader told Hungarian news portal Székelyhon.
ForCamp has assembled two prototypes for public use in Marosvásárhely: one in a downtown bus station and another in a shopping center.
The idea to turn pedal power into electricity isn’t a novelty, of course, but using it for charging phones is. There is no data-theft risk, the project leader told Székelyhon, as only the charging feature is turned on, while the data-transfer feature is turned off.
The developers have applied for funding, as the cost of one charging box can run up to EUR 3,000, they say. If their funding is approved, they can lower the production cost, Bartha notes.
Title image: MEP Loránt Vincze tested the green charger in downtown Marosvásárhely/Târgu Mureș. Image source: Forcamp’s Facebook page
