Product Design students from Newcastle TAFE, Australia, Bryn Seymour and John Rothapfel have come up with a novel group concept that promises to cut down on electronic waste and battery usage by loads. By employing a self-powering mechanism in their tiny portable Twist Camera, the designers are hoping to take digital photography to the next level of eco-friendliness. The camera simplifies most photo-functions by using a simple hole in the body to act as a view finder, a knob to wind for power, a button for clicking the snap and a multi-color LED user interface. What the camera lacks in integrated functions, it more than makes up by the way of a clever little USB plug that stays hidden under its winding cap and lets users edit and view snaps via their PCs. In theory this camera can support a resolution of upto 5MP and by keeping camera features minimal, the energy requirement is also reduced radically. For now the concept is still in the works, but it could really make an effective alternative to recreational, instant and children’s camera whenever it slides down the assembly line.
Source: Core77
Was this product just a concept or will this actually go into manufacture? I am interested in using similar technology for my major project at university so it would be interesting to see if this technology actually could be implemented into a device!
This is a sort of technology that is being developed as we speak. This product is just a concept but it is basically the same technology that is used in dynamos; ie wind up torches etc. Kinetic technology is just on the horizon though.
