I have to do a project on human powered product like clockwork radio or freeplay torch . I was thinking of a wind up mobile charger but it’s nothing new i guess. Chips that convert little pressure or temperature into electrical energy are in talks these days. Any ideas or suggestions on something I can work and design??? Thanks
I would suggest starting by splitting it into 2 categories, things that require some sort of power (either mechanical or electrical) and natural human motions. Try not to censor yourself.
If this is for a school project, I would not worry so much about feasibility (unless that is part of the assignment). Push the boundaries of technology and form.
go full on aircraft:
It has to be feasible or it will be nothing more than Industrial designer’s folio-padding fluff.
Consider also storing human energy as potential energy that can be later harvested to power a device.E.g. The Gravity light.
Yes, I have been told that the technology should be feasible. Plus, I don’t want to go into futuristic chips because in that case it will be more of the technology rather than design and I have not invented that technology so its nothing I am contributing to.
Personally I did not like the gravity light because lifting a heavy weight is not possible everywhere. So, it’s use is limited to particular places and the setup when you put heavy weight in the bag and hang the light.
Please suggest some other ideas.
Many novice designers don’t realize the amount of human effort required to do something like turn a crank to power a radio. On that scale, it’s not as simple and elegant as it seems; it’s a lot of cranking. But if you scale up, you can look at harnessing the relentless movement of commuters/pedestrians. This is the more interesting scale, to me.
So within the realm of public infrastructure energy generation, you’ve got stuff like sidewalks that generate power by being stepped on by thousands of people per day. Or maybe subway turnstiles that generate power when walked through. Stuff like that.
Consider also storing human energy as potential energy that can be later harvested to power a device.E.g. The Gravity light.
SV, I immediately thought of the Gravity Light. I was given a cuckoo clock as a kid and was always fascinated by the ritual of having to raise the weights everyday. What if the gravity light mechanism was scaled up and required two or three men to raise the weights?
Here’s an old thread → Human-Powered Trucks
Recreational vehicles/equipment? Check out Schweeb
Human-Powered Helicopter Team May Have Won Sikorsky Prize- the University of Toronto’s “AeroVelo”
and they do lots of human powered stuff- awesome.
Human powered hydrofoils are always intriguing:
PEOPLE ARE AWESOME - Flying on water - YouTube (apologies- can’t do the embed)
Find out the community for which you want to develop.
Find out the purpose (sport, leisure, necessity, etc.)
Is it capable of expanding to mass audience?
You have to be a little careful in your choices.
It should have all ingredients( form, function, solution etc.) to update/enhance your skills in the project.
Here are a few…
I would suggest starting by splitting it into 2 categories, things that require some sort of power (either mechanical or electrical) and natural human motions. Try not to censor yourself.
How about thermal power (a la the matrix 
)
Flashlight powered by the heat from the hand, from the core77 front page
Keg pump
Ice cream freezer
The “Aero Velo” won the Sikorsky prize:
http://www.fai.org/record-experimental-new-technologies
This should jumpstart some more human powered attempts. The section “Experimental and New Technologies World Records” has the human powered plane record at 115.11km, set in 1988.
Here’s the winning flight:
So, OP, what did you decide to do?
You got all of these suggestions, at least post the project man!