Once again, a Spanish public institution surprises us with a development that can give a lot to talk about in the short and medium term future. Today I want to present you a curious hiking pole much more interesting, in terms of concept and technology that it incorporates, than you can imagine, a project in which researchers from the University of Jaen and that has been financed with funds from the university itself.
As they say in the paper that has seen the light after many months of hard work, this electronic hiking pole has been equipped with the necessary hardware in its structure so that, while we practice and enjoy nature, we can charge the battery, for example, of our smartphone, something that can be much more interesting and useful than we can imagine at first due to the problems that, unintentionally, we can have when we stay in the middle of the field without a battery.
Researchers from the University of Jaén develop a cane capable of generating electricity with which to charge our gadgets
Among the main objectives that have led the team of researchers from the University of Jaén to design this device is to ensure that, with its use, it can be notably increase the safety of the hiker Thanks, among other things, to the fact that while he is walking and contemplating the landscape, the cane can provide the necessary energy to recharge or operate his electronic devices of any kind, be it a smartphone, a GPS, an intercom ...
Based on the statements made by Cristina Martin, one of the people in charge of this project:
During a route with my daughter I had an accident and my cell phone battery ran out. It was impossible to communicate with anyone. At that very moment I wondered how I could solve the problem with a very specific device that I could take with me on my outings.
A small accident leads to the creation of an electronic baton capable of generating electric current
With these problems in mind, the team of researchers from the University of Jaén, made up of staff from the Research and development group in graphic engineering, industrial design and GIS and the Research and development group in solar energy, they began to work on the design of the walking stick that you can see in the images distributed by this same post, a system that can be used as support when hiking and that, at the same time, generates electricity thanks to the use of energy sources renewable such as wind or hydraulic.
The secret of this interesting cane is found in its handle, which is made up of a propeller that is driven by wind or a stream of water. As we already know, this system, when rotating, makes an axis integrated in the tube of the cane rotate, which is responsible for activating a small generator capable of producing energy that is stored in a small portable battery that is fully integrated in the body. of the staff, which in turn acts as a protector against possible blows that we can give to the battery.
The cane includes a small tool so that it can be anchored to different elements and thus generate energy autonomously
In case we want to use all the energy generated with the use of the cane, we will only have to connect a USB cable to the cane and the gadget that we want to charge. A very simple and intuitive way of being able to stay connected at all times, something that can be critical at certain times, especially in those moments, as Cristina Martín commented, in which you may suffer some kind of accident or mishap.
As a final detail, it should be noted that this electronic walking stick has a small tool with which we can attach the cane to different elements such as a bicycle or the like so that it can generate energy while we move, we are camping or other types of activities where it is required to generate energy from renewable sources.