By OMAR AKKAD Thursday, September 8, 2005 Updated at 2:01 PM EDT
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have invented a backpack that not only improves the way you walk, but also uses your movement to generate enough electricity to power several electronic devices at once.
In a paper published in the Sept. 9 issue of the journal Science, University of Pennsylvania biology professor Dr. Lawrence Rome and three colleagues describe the "Suspended-load Backpack," which can generate up to 7.4 watts of power. Typical cellphones, night-vision goggles and similar small electronic devices require less than one watt of power.
The electricity can be used as it is generated, or stored in a lightweight rechargeable battery.
The backpack takes advantage of the hip's movement to generate electricity. When a person walks, they place one foot on the ground and vault over it with the rest of their body. This movement causes the hip to move up and down about 4 to 7 centimetres.
The backpack's load plate is mounted to the pack and suspended by springs, which allows the load to echo the hip's movement. This drives a rack-and-pinion device, which in turn powers a motor that acts as a generator. The result is a conversion of the body's mechanical energy to electricity.
As an added benefit, rather than requiring additional energy on the part of the person walking, the backpack actually improves the way its wearer walks, making their movement more efficient, scientists found.
While Dr. Rome and his colleagues aren't yet certain why the backpack makes walking more efficient, they say the finding confirms the device is practical. They also found users can generate more electricity by walking faster, carrying a heavier load, or both.
The device could prove invaluable to explorers and scientists in remote regions, who would be able to shed the weight of extra batteries. U.S. soldiers stationed in Afghanistan, who must carry as much as 10 kilograms of extra batteries, may also end up using the backpack.
"Metabolically speaking, we've found this to be much cheaper than we anticipated," Dr. Rome said in a release. "The energy you exert could be offset by carrying an extra snack, which is nothing compared to the weight of extra batteries."
http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/495...ack20020tv.jpg