Feeling antsy? Test results have you fidgeting? Why not charge your phone while you’re at it? For some time, researchers have inquired on how to turn restless energy into electricity, and now Dutch designer Nathalie Teugels has created the first-ever chair that can convert kinetic energy into electricity, allowing smartphones and other devices to be charged.
Called MOOV, the chair converts energy given off by humans into electricity in order to charge a device. To start, the user must plug in a USB connector and sit down in order to activate the built-in sensors in the chair. Once the user has sat down, they must wiggle in their seat in order to create a power flow throughout the chair. This constant movement will motivate users to stay restless, thus creating enough power to charge up the device.
The Dutch designer used the science of piezoelectric crystals to give the furniture’s material the ability to create an electric charge while responding to movement. “The whole idea started from a very personal story, one about hyperactivity and ADHD. ‘Sit still’ was something that I heard a lot during my childhood. Because of this, I wanted to design something where my energy could get used in a positive way.” Teugels told Design Boom. “Therefore, I created a chair where I cannot sit still and where moving is a must. This is a chair for people who have the habit of tapping their feet on the ground the whole time, or simply moving on the chair constantly,”
For now, the chair is a first-of-its-kind. It is still unknown on how efficient the chair is and how long it takes to charge a smartphone. In addition to the USB port, the chair also comes with an extra battery pack that stores your energy all day, even if a device is not connected.
