The MoPR Blog

Telecom provider Orange announced this week the continuation of their partnership with alternative energy company GotWind that will create a new cell phone charger powered by the kinetic energy of the human body.

The renewable energy junkies and Orange will be providing the new technology for this year’s Glastonbury music festival in Somerset, England.

Last year, the company provided a rechargepod the world’s first mobile charging station powered solely by wind and solar energy, according to the folks at GotWind.

The pod, a seven meter high tent placed at music fest and mounted with a wind charger, gave the nearly 175,000 attendees at the three-day celebration the chance to recharge their phones outdoors and away from traditional sources of power.

“With a peak power of 1Kw, the pod can recharge 100 mobile phones per hour, and stores any unused energy in its battery bank,” GotWind explains on their site. “A fully functional weather station and power generated and consumed readout is also viewable for all to see on an information panel within the pod.”

This year, GotWind and Orange are adding a new extra to the festival in addition to the rechargepod, a phone charger that users can wear on their arm, the Orange Dance Charge, powering their batteries through dance energy. Check out the press release.

MSNBC explained that the prototype chargers weigh the same as a phone and are about the size of a pack of cards, packed with weights and magnets storing the current in a battery that can later be used to charge your mobile.

So dance the night away and get something out of it other than an endorphin rush. You’re going to do it anyway, so you might as well harness your own energy to power your mobile, right?

You might not see the need for recharging your cell phone at a music festival meant to put people outdoors rocking out. Not the most opportune time to talk to your buddies. Shouldn’t you be taking a break from your hectic schedule and email?  But if you think about the thousands of people, young and old, in attendance, moseying across nearly 900 acres of farm land, the need for communication between groups within the festival atmosphere is essential.

I can’t even count the number of times that I’ve lost my friends in the crowd a concert. How will we know where we’re going to meet up afterwards if my battery dies? And what if I want to take a picture of Radiohead with my phone to send to my boyfriend who missed the concert?

As soon as I started thinking about it, it totally made sense, besides being environmentally friendly and a model for alternative energy in the grander scheme of things.

“The rechargepod will act as a trial in using renewable energy sources on a larger scale, with a view to ultimately powering elements of the Chill n’ Charge tent at future Glastonbury Festivals,” Orange and GotWind explained in their press release. “It is more important than ever that we continue to innovate and demonstrate how mobile technology can help bring people together and make festival life a little bit easier, whilst in-keeping with the traditions of the Glastonbury Festival,” an Orange rep explained.

The pod will be located within one of the campgrounds at Glastonbury and is totally free for all to use. A few prototypes of the armband will be tested at the festival as well.

ITWire reports that Orange will promote the armband charger with an interactive “Dance Charging Man” (I can see it now) who will help recharge phones by dancing with the people who need their phones re-charged.

As a backpacker, the idea of harnessing kinetic energy is super-compelling.

I could charge my GPS if I get lost in the snow. Emergency personnel or forest firefighters could have a backup plan if radios or equipment died (don’t scoff at this—those fire people do a lot of digging and chopping in teams that would create a ton of power). Of course the ability to charge my iPod might be nice, but it’s not that big of a concern when I’m hiking 25 miles into the woods. I don’t really want electricity to enter into that equation; however, it could provide some useful developments, like an electric stove to cut down on propane costs.

Keep the great ideas coming GotWind. We’re listening.