MotionPower
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MotionPower speed bump installed at NJ Burger King, McDonald's and Wendy's feel slighted
We can't say we doubted that New Energy's MotionPower speed bump would actually be installed at a New Jersey Burger King, but it's always refreshing to see a plan morph into reality. As of now, those in Hillside heading to have it their way will cruise over the kinetic energy harvester before retrieving their grub, which has the potential to create around 2,000 watts of electricity from a car hitting it at five miles per hour. As of now, the hump is simply there to test storage potential, but New Energy is hoping that the next generation of the tech could be placed at a variety of fast foot eateries, parking lots, toll booth plazas and anywhere else where folks need a little assistance in maintaining a sensible speed. Check out the read link for a plethora of shots, and feel free to splurge on a #4 combo today if you're in the area -- Ma Earth will thank you.
Video: Burger King tests MotionPower kinetic energy harvester
Transforming kinetic energy into electricity doesn't often get taken seriously, but at least one Burger King joint has been hooked on to the idea. The New Jersey-based outlet is set to give the first roadtest to MotionPower strips produced by New Energy, which harness energy from vehicles passing over them. Based on the thinking behind regenerative braking in hybrids, the energy absorbers are made up of small plates moving up and down. UK supermarket chain Sainsbury's recently introduced similar "kinetic road plates" in its car parks, and hopes are they'll generate 30 kW per hour from the energy and weight of cars overhead. Sainsbury's plans to power store checkouts through the scheme, whereas Burger King will just exploit your energy to power various appliances. Provided someone doesn't sue for unlawful energy appropriation and the roadtest is successful, New Energy hopes to expand the use of its power strips to other high-traffic, low-speed locations like toll booths and intersections. Video after the break.[Via Jalopnik]Read - New Energy PRRead - Sainsbury's PR
M2E says it will deliver cellphone-charging motion power device in 2009
We haven't heard a whole lot from M2E Power since it burst onto the scene last year with promises of powering your gadgets with movement, but the company now says that it's made some real progress with its wonder device, and it's claiming that it'll actually be available sometime next year. According to the company, the charger will let you get about 30 to 60 minutes of talk time on your cellphone after six hours of cumulative motion, and you'll of course be able to use it with other gadgets as well. As you can see above, the charger unit can also simply be plugged into an outlet to be topped off if you need a slightly quicker fix. What's more, M2E also says that it has had discussions with some unspecified cellphone makers to build the generator directly into a phone, although it says it'll take "at least two years" before something like that is commercially available.
