What if you can create your own power to charge that power hungry smartphone of yours? AMPY does exactly that. It’s a powerbank that harnesses the kinetic energy that we produce everyday – from walking, running, driving, etc. – and converts that into electrical energy that our smart devices can use.
The makers of AMPY claim that the kinetic energy of walking 10,000 steps (or running for 30 minutes or cycling for an hour) produces enough electrical energy to give your phone an extra 3 hours of runtime. There’s even an AMPY app that you can download which tells you the amount of energy you’ve created, the number of calories you’ve burned and if you’re the eco-warrior type, the app even tells you how much carbon footprint you’ve managed to offset by creating your own energy. If you want to use AMPY to harness energy from your workouts, the makers is also making an armband, a sleeve and a clip for you to take the AMPY with you when you run, or cycle, or whatever.
Overall, AMPY is a cool concept. It’s great to be able to harness energy that normally just goes to waste and put it to use into something essential, like charging your phone but with just a 1,000mAh cell, don’t expect to get a full charge out of AMPY. Still, extra juice is always useful when you’re out of battery and are nowhere near a power point, especially when you go hiking or camping, so that’s a good thing.
If you’re interested in getting one, AMPY is currently looking for backers on startup. The company needs US$100,000 to get the project off the ground but funding has well exceeded that (over US$120,000), and with 27 days to go, AMPY has plenty of time to get more fund. AMPY is expected to retail for $95 (about RM309). For an additional $10, you’ll get the earlier mentioned accessory pack that includes the arm band, sleeve, and clip for your AMPY. International shipping is possible and the first batch is expected to be delivered by June 2015.
For more information, head over to Ampy’s website.
