Imagine that your mobile phone's battery is draining fast and there's no outlet available to connect the charger. In that case, you will need a power bank. But not just any power bank...
A trio of students from Bratislava came up with a brilliant idea. Branislav Brozmann, Andrej Zlámala, and Martin Janák from the Charging Revolution team invented a unique portable charger - a power bank, which landed among the top three of the best ideas in the Red Bull Basement innovation competition. The idea of constructing this charger had been the answer to a curious question: What if you could charge your phone simply by the movement of your hand, without access to electricity, fuel, sunlight, or a charged power bank?
Inspired by PowerBall, a gyroscopic exercise tool
The basic working principle of the power bank charged by the movement of your own hand is very simple. For example, when you eat something and then do some exercise, you convert the energy gained from food into the energy of your movement. The same is true for this power bank. The conversion of energy occurs because of the movement of your hand. This way you can convert your own energy into electricity.
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Powerbanka je inspirovaná PowerballemSource: Michal Miklovič/Red Bull Basement
The device contains a gyroscopic rotor and a ball that can rotate in two axes. One is able to simply spin the ball by turning the wrist the right way. This way of charging is not only quite fun, but it's also an exercise that strengthens your wrist. Hiking and long journeys can turn into fun activities. Basically, this means that you're not dependent on the comfort of your home or office when charging a mobile phone. You can produce energy at any time - all you need to do is move.
"We looked up various statistics while working on our project. We were quite surprised that there are about 940 million people in the world without access to electricity. In the course of the competition, we were interviewed by reporters from Nigeria, who seemed interested in our project. By African standards, Nigeria is a country that is becoming more technologically advanced. They should have no problem with utilizing our device,"
revealed the trio of designers to LP-Life.
Worldwide success in the competition: from the total of 3,800 competitors to the Top 3
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Trojice studentů, která powerbanku vyvinulaSource: Michal Miklovič/Red Bull Basement
More than 3,800 teams from all over the world took part in the competition, but only 38 of them reached the semifinals. The world finals were originally scheduled to take place in Toronto. However, due to the pandemic outbreak, they turned into an online event. The organizers of the Red Bull Basement competition created a virtual platform that worked as a game. Individual teams could meet there virtually, discuss and present their ideas.
The final task for the designers was to convince the international jury within two minutes that their idea was the best. In these finals, the trio made it to the top three projects in the competition.
"The competition was very strong. There were many interesting ideas. We can mention, for example, a music sharing ring presented by a team from Australia or a washing machine using recycled water from Great Britain. Among the 38 teams were also Czech representatives with an air quality monitoring device. After the pandemic, we'll have a beer together,"
the designers disclosed to the LP-Life editorial staff.
Prodej pozemku 1200 m2, Praha, Praha 5
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Revolution in charging small electrical devices
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Powerbankou si můžete bez problémů dobít mobilSource: Michal Miklovič/Red Bull Basement
Thanks to their success in the competition, the creators of the charger gained important connections and are motivated to continue with the project. Since all three of them are students, they're getting ready for the examination period. From the beginning of March, however, the team of students wants to further improve their product so that they can offer it to the public as soon as possible. That is why good connections and people who could help them at this stage are important to them.
"Besides going to school, each of us has a job and various hobbies. This project has shown us that we can create something valuable. We are interested in continuing this trend because we have many more ideas,"
