November 30, 2004
"Kinkajuice" Human-Powered Charger
Behold, the Kinkajuice!
Developed by MIT students in the 2.009 class, the Kinkajuice has great potential as an efficient way to charge batteries in places where electricity is hard to come by. Based on an erg (rowing) machine, the Kinkajuice uses the long muscle groups of the legs and back to get a long power stroke, which is converted to DC power and stored in an attached 12V battery. The efficiency of the Kinkajuice is significantly higher than that of bicycle chargers or hand-cranks.
Kinkajuice Team members
The Kinkajuice was originally designed as an alternative way to power a Kinkajou that didn't require a solar panel. Given the right plug, the Kinkajuice should be able to power at 5-15W device.
Made for each other...
See the Kinkajuice brochure: [pdf]
Read the final project report: [pdf]
As part of the Design that Matters visit to Mali in November of 2004, team member Christine Lin brought along a Kinkajuice for field testing.
Christine Lin demonstrating the Kinkajuice at an elementary school in the villlage of Sebenakoro
A young girl giving the Kinkajuice a try at the Institute for Popular Education in Kati
