Original story
Internet News Update 12.3.2006
Movenergy underwear converts body movements to electricity
The Movenergy power suit, originally devised for use with mobile communicators in difficult conditions, is becoming increasingly popular with citydwellers as well.
Movenergy is a device produced and developed by the Anglo-French consortium Magna Power PLC, and is designed to convert kinetic energy into an electrical charge which is stored in its own lightweight batteries. Some twenty-five years ago, the world was amazed by the introduction of self-winding wristwatches, which operated on more or less the same principle. Movenergy is a great deal more efficient and stores energy from not only the movements of the wrists or arms, but also from other parts of the body. In this way it is possible to recover the energy of the legs and back.
Magna Power PLC originally developed the technology for use under conditions where it was not possible to charge the battery of a portable communicator in the normal way, and where the load to be carried on the person had to be as light as possible. Examples include treks in desert or jungle terrain, mountain climbing, and polar expeditions. Comfort-loving and price-conscious individuals with a conscience about preserving limited natural resources havetaken to the idea in droves, and by the end of last year, more than two million Movenergy outfits had been sold to customers in both rural areas and large cities.
Movenergy facilitates a portable energy supply in many situations. When travelling or on an outing somewhere, it is no longer necessary to carry heavy battery packs or accumulators. There is also no fear of the energy supply running out. When a person puts on the Movenergy suit, he or she knows that there is enough energy along for the ride.
The rising cost of batteries and mini-accumulators and the steep increase in energy taxation that we have witnessed in recent years means that Movenergy makes sense even in an urban environment. Since it completely by-passes the mains electricity normally required in recharging batteries, it has become particularly popular among Greens and Ecofans.
The Movenergy outfit is actually an one-piece undergarment, with a very large number of ultrathin and flexible plastic fibres woven into the material. When a part of the body moves or bends, the fibres bend at the same time. This generates a charge, and this is passed as a very weak electrical current to the charging unit, which as it were gathers the weak currents together and passes the electricity on to a lightweight battery.
To look at, and also when you wear it next to your skin, the Movenergy suit is just like any piece of underwear. It does not cause any extra tiredness in the wearer, and looks perfectly natural under normal clothing. Movenergy suits are already being manufactured in a range of models and with different thermal characteristics to suit all kinds of situations and climatic conditions.
Magna Power PLC plans further improvements to later models, for example incorporating into the design a function whereby upward movement - jumps, hops, and so on - can be made to take part in the energy-generating process.
Toteuma-arvio 2026
Toteuma lyhyesti
- Ilmiön toteuma: 3/5
- Toteuma viiden vuoden tarkkuudella: kyllä; arviointi-ikkuna on 2001–2011
- Toteuma väljemmällä aikahorisontilla: kyllä, mutta rajatusti
- Ilmiön ydin: vaatteisiin sijoitettu energian keruu muuntaa kehon liikkeen kannettavien laitteiden sähköksi.
Pietsosähköisiä, tribosähköisiä ja kineettisiä energiankeräimiä on rakennettu kenkiin ja vaatteisiin. Teho riittää lähinnä sensoreihin tai pieneen lisälataukseen, eikä energiaa tuottavasta alusasusta tullut kuluttajatuotetta.
Johtopäätös: ennuste toteutui tutkimuksessa ja rajatuissa sovelluksissa, mutta ei ennakoidussa mittakaavassa.