OLED chair lights up when you rock

Matt Hickey | Oct 24, 2009

(Credit: Design Boom)

A rocking chair with an integrated OLED lamp would in and of itself be cool enough to feature here on Crave, but the Murakami Chair is different. The power to run the light, you see, comes from your own rocking motion.

As you rock, nano-dynamos built into the chair's skids (I love a job where I get paid to type things like "nano-dynamos") convert the kinetic energy of the motion into power, which is stored in internal batteries during the day or sent straight to the light when dark.

The concept chair was developed by American designer Rochus Jacob, which means it even looks cool. It nabbed first place in designboom's green life competition.

The lighting is all made possible by advances in OLED technology, which make it a very efficient way to convert energy into light. If I had a more high-tech grandpa, I'd get him one of these if it hit the market. That way he could read a book as he sits on his front porch with his shotgun to make sure the kids keep off his lawn.

Really, though, we could see even more practical applications of this technology. Imagine adding nano-dynamos (again!) to the bottoms of your shoes. As you walk around they charge your cell phone or MP3 player or Virtual Boy. OK, maybe not your Virtual Boy. That would be dangerous. And stupid. On many levels.

Via Crave CNET

Filed under: Lifestyle
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