Combining both solar power and kinetic energy, the first public phone charging station of its kind was recently installed at Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri.
As covered by Adele Peters of Fast Co.Exist, about two million pay phones have been removed across the United States since 2000. As the ubiquity of mobile phones rises, more public phone charging stations are taking their place instead. A startup from San Francisco called Volta Group recently released the EnGo, which is doing exactly that. CEO of Volta Group, Petar Mirovic explains why the combination of solar and kinetic energy is ideal: "if you have just solar panels, you'll have days without sun. At the same time, we saw a huge potential in further developing kinetic energy tiles. In areas like Manhattan, or other busy areas, there's a waste of footsteps that can be used in a better way."
The charging stations can accommodate "up to 14 different devices at a time, and includes commonly used cables that can easily be swapped out as technology changes, along with wireless charging pads. Of course, it's not exactly like a phone booth." With this in mind, the station is equipped with free Wifi, an emergency intercom, and display screens with maps and ads.
Over the next six months Volta Group plans to install 100 EnGos throughout the country.
FULL STORY: A Public Phone Charging Station That Harnesses Power From Pedestrians' Footsteps
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UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
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HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research