Students with dead iPod batteries and no charger could have a solution soon � plugging it into their backpacks, thanks to an ASU professor.
Henry Sodano, an assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, developed a backpack that draws power from its weight and movement.
Sodano said he developed the backpack idea with two graduate students while a professor at Michigan Technological University.
"I've been twiddling around with some ideas like this for a long time," he said.
Sodano is currently working on the project for the Navy, which is looking for technologies soldiers can use to generate energy while hiking.
Though the idea is currently in the works for the Navy, Sodano said he plans to take the backpack to the consumer market one day. But there is no date set for when it may be available to everyone, he said.
The primary concept behind the backpack involves power harvesting, or taking energy that exists but isn't normally used, and converting it into energy that can be used, he said.
"For instance, in our case, we have a backpack where you would normally walk with a nylon backpack strap, and you strain that strap just by loading it," Sodano said. "We're taking that strap and changing it to a material that takes that strain and converts it into electrical energy."
But the backpack's charging ability has its limits, Sodano said. The ideal use is for electronics without a large power demand, he said.
"We envisioned it for a few things, like GPS [units]," Sodano said. "So while you're walking, it would power your GPS unit. Or, if you walked all day, it could charge a night lamp, an LED headlamp, and at night you can use it when you're not walking anymore."
The backpack would be better suited for an electronic device like an iPod nano, but not the larger iPod classic, he said.
Mechanical engineering sophomore Emma Blass said she thinks the backpack is a good idea for consumers.
"It's a really cool thing, because everyone has portable electronics," Blass said. "I've seen people plug it in classrooms to make sure everything's charged. So having a portable device that charges your portable devices makes sense."
But graphic design freshman Charles Chilton said no matter how convenient it would be to charge on the go, he still wouldn't consider buying the backpack.
"It's a pretty crazy idea, but I don't even wear a backpack," Chilton said. "I could see how it would be useful, but I probably wouldn't use it. I just try to carry as little as possible to school."
Reach the reporter at: brittany.mccall@asu.edu.
