Smarter ways to charge your phone

For those constantly on the move and perennially worried about their phone running out of charge, here is some good news. Francois Rybarczyk of Yanko Design has come-up with a concept of an in-built power adapter, which can be flipped-out and directly plugged into the power outlet to charge the phone.

The Autonome way

Named ‘Autonome’, the module also acts as an additional battery, which can be detached from the phone to be charged and then plugged back when needed. If turned into reality it will be a boon for those who habitually forget to carry their charger when travelling. In fact concepts like these are the need of the hour looking at increased use of smartphones that guzzle power owing to the numerous applications run on it right from e-mail to GPS.

While a phone with an in-built power adapter is still a concept, it’s a step in the right direction. After Nokia’s more or less failed attempt at a solar-powered phone, this concept of in-built power adapter holds some promise. Nokia conceded that while charging the phone using a solar panel on the back cover was possible more ground needs to be covered. They discovered that it can at best generate enough energy to keep the phone on standby mode with a restricted amount of talktime. What hampers the process amongst others is the restricted area of the solar panel, owing to the size of the phone and also the angle it needs to be placed.      

On the other hand, Nagpur-based, final year engineering student, Mandar Tulankar has devised means to charge phone via shoes. As outrageous as it may sound, it’s based on the principle of simple conversion of mechanical energy in to electric energy. So, as you walk you can simultaneously charge your phone as well. Mandar says that half an hour walk is enough to fully charge your phone. Having won several accolades, he is all set to launch the shoes with the embedded circuit in the market and hopes to receive a positive response. Watch this space to know more about Mandar’s innovation.