iYo Makes Your Duncan Jealous, iPhone Happy

by Eric March on September 21, 2008 at 8:54 pm

Yeah, we’ve all seen induction-powered electronic devices before — y’know, the ones with a hand crank you whiz round for a couple of minutes to charge up a capacitor that powers a flashlight or radio for five or ten minutes? Nice idea, no batteries or solar charger required, which is cool, but hand cranking gets a bit tiresome after a while. Just ask my wife. (Badum-tshh!)

So Swedish inventor Peter Thuvander decided to make induction charging fun. He took his favourite toy — a yo-yo — and turned it into an induction charger for the iPhone which he calls the iYo. Yeah, I see that raised eyebrow there. You’re thinking about how absurd that sounds. So was I, but after seeing the pics and watching the video, I have to admit he manages to do it with style.

Peter’s design combines a rotating center with a stationary outer shell to allow magnets to pass over pieces of iron, the energy from which then charges a built-in LIon battery. It takes just 30 revolutions of the iYo to charge the battery up enough to trigger the iPhone’s charge circuit. You can’t do anything useful at that point, but it does provide an example of how well the idea could work.

Once you’ve Yo’d your iYo for a few minutes, it should have enough charge to juice up your iPhone or iPod Touch enough to use it for a fair bit of time. No, sorry, no bonus points for cradling or walking the dog.

The main benefit to this of course is that you don’t need sunlight nor do you have to sit there hand cranking for several minutes. Just whiling away a few entertaining minutes yo-yoing and you’re good to go. Just pop off the centerpiece with the Apple logo and plug your iPhone in to its USB port.

Have a look at the video below for a teaser o his concept. No word on whether he’s going to bring this to market, but it’s a rather interesting idea nonetheless.

(Peter Thuvander, via Gizmodo)

5 Responses to “iYo Makes Your Duncan Jealous, iPhone Happy”

UncleBoogie said:

September 21st, 2008 at 11:42 pm

Great until you misjudge distance and send your device hurtling across the room into the wall.
Eric March said:

September 22nd, 2008 at 2:33 am

The yo-yoing is done independently of charging. You yo your yo around for a while, charging up its internal battery, then pop the center cover and plug your device in.

Still pretty unorthodox, but I guess if you’ve got a thing for yo-yoing…
UncleBoogie said:

September 22nd, 2008 at 6:44 am

“Without him it’s just a Yo…”

And if you know where that line is from, well done, you have excellent taste.:)
Eric March said:

September 22nd, 2008 at 12:26 pm

“You know what you are? You’re a beard with an idiot hanging off it.”

You’re talking to a Britcom afficionado. Black Books had some of the best quips and one-liners ever.
UncleBoogie said:

September 22nd, 2008 at 3:12 pm

Oh I do love this site:)

Bernard is my hero:)