mPower - 2008
Feel the Planet Earth '08 - Cifial Design Award Finalist

mPower is a system that empowers people to create electricity, make money, and save natural resources.

More and more power companies all over the world are paying for the extra electricity individuals generate at home using solar, wind, hydraulic, and other types of power. However, these methods come at great cost to the consumer and require great investment in terms of time, money, and effort.

mPower broadens the concept of creating sustainable energy sources by enabling people to create their own energy while improving their quality of life as well as that of our global community.

mPower consists of 2 units: Generation and Collection.

mPower Generation is a plant-shaped human-powered unit that produces electricity for immediate and future use. Using fingerprint recognition, users access their account, stand on two pads at the base of the unit, and shift their weight from one pad to the other every ten seconds. The system, designed to take up minimal time and effort, can be adapted for people with disabilities. A small portion of the electricity generated is used to power the unit’s interactive touch-screen, which offers a broad range of informational services pre-customized by each user. The remaining majority of electricity generated is sent to the city’s main power plant to be used or stored. At their convenience, users receive payment for the electricity they generated by accessing their account at mPower Collection.

mPower Collection uses the same fingerprint recognition technology to identify users, distribute payment, and allow account access.

mPower taps into our greatest natural resource: people
Rather than expending energy to create more, mPower harnesses the energy we generate by providing a means for individuals and companies to create electricity, make money, and improve lives.

mPower empowers people
By offering payment in exchange for a few minutes of minimal movement via a free-to-use system available to everyone regardless of socioeconomic status, economic and environmental sustainability is made available by involving our global community in generating what has become one of our most essential needs: electricity.

mPower creates business opportunities
mPower units are provided by electric companies, who profit by charging other businesses to advertise on mPower Generation touch-screens. These businesses save money on expensive market research, PR, and advertising campaigns by advertising directly to individuals who previously expressed interest in particular products/services as per information they entered upon mPower account set-up.

mPower generates income
Electric companies pay consumers for generating electricity via mPower. These payments are competitive with fees paid by consumers for power provided by the same electric companies.

The base of the Generation unit consists of two pads, each mounted on a hydraulic cylinder. The cylinders are connected by a pico-hydro turbine. The turbine is connected to a generator. When a person steps onto one of the pads, the resulting pressure forces fluid from one cylinder into the other, causing it to rise and activate the turbine. The more a person repeats the movement of shifting his/her weight from one pad to the other, the more electricity is generated. This system can be replaced with piezoelectric pads, mechanical, pneumatic, or other electricity-generating technologies as appropriate.

In addition to the exercise users get while generating electricity, they can also benefit from services available on Generation’s interactive network, including news, community events, traffic and public transportation information, calendar, time/date, music, weather, radio, product and service information, mobile device charging (through power jacks), internet, widgets, city maps, games, telecommunication services, and advertisements.

More than 70 % of the world’s energy comes from non-renewable sources, leading us to constantly look outside ourselves to find new resources. Turning that search inward and using the human body, spirit and mind to power future generations is a radical yet effective approach to addressing our global energy problems.

mPower fits into our daily activities and ways of life without disrupting them. Generation and Collection units can be placed on, in, or near streets and pavements, public transportation, airports and other areas where waiting is involved, parks and community centers, schools and universities, libraries, common areas in apartment blocks, and countless other places.

The concept of mPower can be modified to fit into homes, casinos, gyms, phone booths, internet cafes, and wherever generated energy can be used as direct power or in exchange for product and services such as climate control, public lighting, charging mobile phones and other devices. Other power-generating methods can also be implemented, such as walking, pedaling, running, see-sawing, swinging, and using body weight or heat.

The possibilities are endless, sustainable, and empowering.