NTT Docomo unleashes the power of shoes

Fact: Most of us have cellular phones. Fact: We all need to charge these phones every once in a while. Opinion: We should not use any more energy than we really need to.

So, what does one do with this collection of facts and opinions? Make a cell phone charger that is more energy efficient. Enter NTT Docomo, IT giant from Japan, with their latest prototype of a cell phone charger for your shoe.

Yes, it does sound like something that Maxwell Smart would have had on his other shoe, but this device is very unique. Apparently, the shoe has a small generator that is capable of creating about 1.2 watts worth of power just by walking. The company hopes that they will hope to generate 3 watts of power necessary to charge up a cellular phone.

I believe there is some sort of kinetic energy generator that can charge just by walking around. I think the current design looks a little crude, but I do admire the concept. All a user has to do is walk around, and he or she can charge a phone with the all the energy made from walking around all day.

The company hopes they will have a working model to market to everyone by the year 2010. Let’s hope it looks better than what we see here.