New Twist on Power Walking

An anonymous reader writes "Carrying a newly designed backpack loaded with between 44 and 84 pounds of gear, users generate enough electricity to simultaneously power an MP3 player, a PDA, night vision goggles, a handheld GPS, a CMOS image decoder, a GSM terminal in talk mode, and Bluetooth."

Ob Snow Crash reference

[richie2000]

- You're a gargoyle [metaweb.com].

84 pounds to power devices?

[cwtrex]

might be worth it for over weight kids that want to power their game boy while walking for a change ...

I suppose it'll help build muscle too lol

That would make you

[silasthehobbit]

A walking target for muggers. Or if you went on the London Underground with it, increase your likelihood of being shot by the Met Police exponentially

Walking Chick Magnet!

[blankoboy]

Not only generating power but instantly increasing your popularity with the fairer sex.

Re:84 pounds to power devices?

[OllieG]

According to TFA, the backpack changes a walker's gait so that they actually walk more efficiently, so maybe not! Shame for all the fat kids, though.

"... and Bluetooth"?

[pieterh]

The incredible accuracy of this list of items that the backpack can power quite astounds me.

"Sorry sir, if you want to play WMAs you'll need the extended BackpackWindows version."

"Sorry sir, USB2.0 is not supported. Have you considered using BlueTooth?"

"Sorry sir, federal law requires you to wear night vision goggles while carrying this backpack. Yes, sir, I'm aware it's high noon. Regulations."

"Sorry sir, but is that GSM terminal in talk mode? It is? OK, just checking... some tourists think they can use stand-by mode."

Musical Ninja

[SimilarityEngine]

...enough electricity to simultaneously power an MP3 player ... night vision goggles ...

Great! Now I can assasinate people while listening to the Kill Bill soundtrack!

Re:Walking Chick Magnet!

[SimilarityEngine]

According to the article:

Suspended-load Backpack testers were able to generate up to 7.4 Watts...

Everyone knows that walking chick magnets require several kilowatts to operate, so you'll have to jog rather quickly :-)

Sadly...

[MaestroSartori]

...carrying all that gear means that the calls you do make on the GSM device in talk mode sound like heavy breathing pervert-o-calls, and you'll get busted for harrassment :)

Re:That would make you

[FidelCatsro]

With a few modifications you could be a walking talking beat-em up character ."Lighting bolt thrust" ..."Spinning Electro kick".. no mugger could touch ***"Nine Volt Man***
That joke was shocking

plug it in...

[utnow]

Seems like it would just be way easier to just plug it in at home and live with the fact that I'm only going to get ~16hours out of my iPod, 24hrs of standby on my cellphone... 5hrs out of my laptop. etc.

Alternative energy like this won't really get anybody's interest until it's passive (except all of us. lol). As long as it's more work than plugging it into the wall at home, we'll keep doing just that.

In the meantime, just how many active vibrator's does that translate into? :D

That's LOTS of batteries

[dvandok]

By carrying a load weighing from 44 to 84 pounds (20 to 38 kg) [...] The electricity [...] can be stored in a lightweight rechargeable battery for later use, greatly reducing the need to haul and use heavy replacement batteries.

I think that bringing 30 kg in replacement batteries should last me the entire vacation!

Coincidence...

[Nevtje(hr]

...that this was posted on the same day as the article about the robotic hand?

1 + 1 = 2 (say hello to a new era of beach voyeurism)

Re:"... and Bluetooth"?

[Anonymous Coward]

That's the new user-friendly standard notation for electric power. All that stuff about Watts and Joules was bound to confuse people!

Re:Musical Ninja

[Rirath.com]

Great! Now I can assasinate people while listening to the Kill Bill soundtrack!

I've always wanted my own theme music...

not for use in the park

[sl4shd0rk]

be careful while jogging past another person wearing one with more negative electrons than yours. *ffffZZZZZZZOTTTT* *POOOOM* *smoke smoke*

I'm wondering

[Ixne]

What are the chances your average /. user can even heft said backpack? (images of futuristic schoolyard-bully style backpack swiping ensue)

Re:not for use in the park

[SimilarityEngine]

be careful while jogging past another person wearing one with more negative electrons than yours

I'd be even more worried about people with positive ones. BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

Re:why is this new? why a backpack?

[Federico2]

why not use wrist- or ankle-mounted generators...?

Now, shake that ass!

Power *Walking*?

[dwater]

Sounds more like "Power *Stalking*" to me...

Re:Ob Snow Crash reference

[Hogwash McFly]

Any dirty bastards who read it as 'Power Wanking', please direct yourselves here [slashdot.org].

Re:why is this new? why a backpack?

[Anonymous Coward]

why not use wrist- or ankle-mounted generators, which get a lot more movement, so presumably the generator could be a lot smaller and lighter?

Let me put it this way. Which is going to hurt more: A wristwatch dropped onto your foot from a height of three feet, or a 27-inch TV dropped onto your foot from a height of two inches?

The amount of pain is a crude indicator of how much energy can be obtained.

Resistance is futile...

[ddkilzer]

...you will be assimilated! Wait, don't run! We cannot keep up with you!

Re:Uses

[Ced_Ex]

With all due respect, RTFA. As has been pointed out elsewhere in these comments, the 44-88 pounds is just some arbitrary load whose motion generates the electricity. It can be food, water, contraceptives, whatever you like.

Whoa.. 88lbs. of contraceptives? Whew, I'll get tired just from carrying them before I actually get a chance to use them.

A picture of it

[Call Me Black Cloud]

It took a while but I finally found a picture of it [allplush.com]. It doesn't look too bad, and actually does look eco-friendly.