We've already written about the use of playground equipment as a means of pumping fresh water for African villages, and now a British student at Coventry University has come up with a way to use see-saws to generate power.
Daniel Sheridan, a student in consumer product design, won three separate awards amounting to GBP 5,500 earlier this year for his see-saw design, which can create enough electricity to power a classroom by capturing the energy generated when children play on it. It would take just five to 10 minutes of play on the see-saw to light a classroom for a few hours, BBC News reported, though the energy gets transferred to an electrical storage unit via underground cable, so it would be up to the school to decide how the power is used. Sheridan was inspired by a volunteer project he worked on in Kenya last summer that included building a school. "The current need for electricity in Sub-Saharan Africa is staggering," he explains. "Without power, development is extremely difficult. The potential market for this product is huge and the design could be of benefit to numerous communities in Africa and beyond."
Sheridan's plan includes recruiting the local community to build part of the device and also install it, thereby creating involvement and reducing logistical costs. Late last month he reportedly left for a village near Jinja, Uganda, to test and finalize the prototype using locally derived parts. Alternative energy entrepreneurs: what are you waiting for? This one's for you! ;-) (Related: Playing for water and Hippo water roller.)
Website: www.coventry.ac.uk/cu/d/199/a/6110
Contact: danielsheridan@yahoo.co.uk
Spotted by: RK
I want to kiss this kid! I love to hear the next generation putting their genius ideas to such noble use - both for the needy and for the world energy crisis.
Gives me such hope.
why a f r i c a n schools ?
Is there someone I could get in touch with to have this distributed/set up in Pakistan. I am willing to contact the NGO's and figure out the resource part. Can we get the product/design here?
This is something very revolutionary! However, just wondering the safety level of the equipment.
Great idea!! Schools in wealthier countries should install these too...
Hey its good idea and it will be eco friendly... keeping in mind the business opportunities in this, I think some one should fund this guy to make this product commercial. In turn it will be helpful for the whole mankind.
I will be interested to support him from India
can any1 tell me the mechanism for this thing..??
Bravo Daniel!
Nice to see stereotypes shattered by caring kids. Not ALL teenagers are hooligans or self-centered.
Makes me wonder what he'll come-up with next. People who are proven innovators usually are not 'one hit wonders'.
Question: Did he gain a patent for this? Reading Paul's comment I wonder whether some corporation might seize on it and begin manufacture and sales in more affluent nations (through automated assembly) - undercutting the industriousness of the people Daniel is trying to help.
It's happened with aid programs and crop subsidies - putting local farmers and clothing manufacturers out of business when they couldn't compete on a cost basis against subsidized foreign goods.
Would love to know if this can be used commercially. Would be great for a country like Nepal where we get just 8 hours of electricity per day.