In our technology-driven world, there are two major problems. One, when you’re not around an outlet and your electronics die, you go crazy. People are so obsessed with always being on their phones and playing the latest mobile applications that, when it is taken away from us by the lack of battery life, we tend to be a bit out of sorts. The second problem is the lack of daily physical activity among most Americans. Due to our obsession with technology, one hardly ever finds the time to exercise or go play sports, because it’s so much easier to sit down on the couch and play on one’s phone.
Furthermore, there is a global problem with over one billion people not having access to reliable electricity. Well, a company called Uncharted Play has found a way to solve all of these problems with a simple innovation called The PULSE.
According to the Uncharted Play company website, “The PULSE is a portable, emergency battery charging jump rope designed to promote physical activity and spread awareness about the global energy problem.” To go into more depth, the PULSE is a jump rope with built-in technology that can charge your smart phones or other devices while you are on the go and not around an electrical outlet.
This product can be charged in two ways: first, you can jump rope. There is technology inside the jump rope that generates electricity to charge the portable battery inside the PULSE. This option is the way it promotes physical activity.
If you aren’t near an outlet and your phone dies, but you have your PULSE with you, all you need to do is jump rope for about 15 minutes, connect it to your phone, and the problem is solved. The user now has a portable phone charger, and he or she just got in some good exercise for the day. Secondly, you can plug your PULSE into any wall outlet or laptop to charge it as well.
This battery-charging jump rope works by using each rotation of the rope to power up the battery. The rotational energy gets sent through the rope to the two handles, which each have a DC motor and a rechargeable lithium ion battery inside them. Each rotation of the rope generates more turns for the motor, which then brings power to the battery. In order to get the power out of the rope, just plug in the included accessories or USB adaptor to the handles, along with your charger, to your phone or other device, and viola, instant charging. On the company’s website, it’s said that about 15 minutes of jumping rope can give you over two hours of electricity with a standard lamp.
Now, with so many easy ways to gain access to electrical outlets, one may be thinking this product might not be so wildly demanded. However, the impact of this technology is on a global scale.
For every PULSE that is bought, a child in a third-world country gets access to one as well. Many developing countries suffer from lack of usable electricity. This invention gives these populations a way around this issue, because if they want electricity, all they need to do is jump rope, and the rest is science.
There are many problems that lack of clean power can lead to, as the Uncharted Play website mentions. This technology helps prevent those issues by providing clean and renewable energy to those who desperately need it.
Additionally, the PULSE helps promote Uncharted Play’s Think Out of Bounds Curriculum, which promotes social innovation and creative thinking. It “pushes people of all ages to take a risk, prototype, get it wrong, embrace failure, and try again. By combining this with meaningful play, we inspire people to believe in the power of their own ideas and their ability to have an impact.”
The PULSE isn’t Uncharted Play’s first invention. Their pioneer product was called the SOCCKET, which has a lot of the same capabilities that the PULSE does. Thirty minutes of playing soccer can generate over three hours of electricity to be used. SportTechie covered the release of the Soccket back in July of 2013.
Uncharted Play is not just in the business of technology. They are in the business of societal innovation, which is very rare among companies today. Not only does this company invent creative, new products, but also the products created are used for the greater good of improving our world and the people who live in it. Uncharted Play has really struck gold with its unique curriculum product development system; this company is helping to change the world, one innovation at a time.