[Mobile Cellphone Info] Shoe technology to charge cell phones

Mobile Cellphone Info has posted a new item, 'Shoe technology to charge cell
phones'

You can now charge your mobile phone from the sole of your shoe.This will be
good news for herdsmen, joggers and gym enthusiasts, since the more you walk or
run, the more electricity your shoe will generate. On Tuesday, this technology
was among the innovations on show at the Science and Innovation Week taking
place at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre in Nairobi. Mr Anthony
Mutua, 24, has developed an ultra-thin chip of crystals that generate
electricity when put under pressure. Through a process he has patented with the
Kenya Industrial Property Institute, he is able to harvest this energy and turn
it into electricity as one walks. Mr Mutua, a graduate of Mombasa Polytechnic
University College, explains that the chip is inserted inside the sole of any
shoe, apart from bathroom slippers. "The electricity is generated by the act of
walking and running, and can be harvested in two ways."
One way is to charge the phone while still in motion through a thin extension
cable that runs from the shoe to the pocket.

"The other alternative, is to charge the phone immediately after a walk because
the crystals have the capacity to store the electric energy," Mr Mutua
explained. The second option through a technology that is just about to go into
mass production, he says, is likely to prove quite popular with people who want
to charge a mobile phone for others as a commercial activity, since it can
service several phones simultaneously. To have your shoe fitted by Mr Mutua who
operates within Nairobi's Central Business District, costs Sh3,800 and the
technology comes with a two and a half year guarantee but not if the shoe is
stolen or lost. "In case the shoe is worn out you can always transfer it to the
new one." Mr Mutua says the National Council of Science and Technology is in
the process of funding his project for mass production of the chips. "This and
the possibility of a bigger market could eventually bring down the purchase
price." The development of Mr Mutua's prototype was funded to the tune of
Sh500,000 by the science council. According to Mr David Ngigi, a senior science
secretary with the National Council for Science and Technology, the council is
now planning to finance Mr Mutua so that he can commercialise his product.
"We have been financing the development of ideas to prototype levels, but
because most innovators lack funds for commercialisation, this innovations never
reach the market. So we are changing this," says Mr Ngigi.
ByGATONYE GATHURA






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