Greener Gadgets 09

Greener Gadgets, now in its second year, is a one-day conference scheduled for February 27, 2009 and features key representatives from some of the largest consumer electronics companies in the world, innovators from academic thinktanks, members of startups focused on renewable energy, and some of the leading minds in the word of sustainable design and business.

Here are a few of my favorites:


Fastronaut toy concept- modeled after the pedometer. Powered by play, each figure has a rechargeable battery, and each vehicle has a dynamo. Each Fastronaut has a power indicator that can be pressed to make the Fastronaut talk. Children get instant feedback as they create energy, and that is strong motivation to be active.


Move Your Energy- Move Your Energy is a rocking shell chair with an LED lamp specially designed for reading. The armchair is power independent - a dynamo provides the electric energy for the lamp which is connected to a special kinematic mechanism. This mechanism is very similar to the one that is characteristic in steam engines. It works together with a lever that runs a fly-weel disk when you rock.


The Power Hog- designed to capture the interest of parents and kids alike and serve the wider environmental cause. Power-Hog visually and symbolically associates power conservation with savings by using the iconic piggy bank as a visual reference. Kids can use their allowance to turn on the TV or video game by feeding the Power-Hog with loose change. The Power-Hog meters consumption and blinks red when time is running out. It also helps parents meter the amount of time spent watching the tube.