Wednesday 19 June 2013

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In Belgrade, a solar-powered device charges mobile phones for free

Urbanism | No comments

par Elsa Sidawy | 10.24.11

There is nothing more irritating than your phone battery dying on you in the middle of a conversation. Especially if you are in the street. In order to find a solution to this everyday problem, students from the University of Belgrade invented the Strawberry Tree after two years of research. Installed in the Obrenovac public park in October 2010, the device enables users to charge their mobile phones for free within ten to fifteen minutes. And you do not have to carry a charger with you since the structure features sixteen charging ports for various charger models. What is its added value? This installation works thanks to solar panels connected to a battery that stores the produced electricity. Self-sufficiency enables the device to supply electricity even at night. Thus the inhabitants of the Serbian capital can have conversations anytime of the day any season of the year. Provided that they stay near the Obrenovac park…

Source: Springwise

Related content : battery charging, Belgrade, solar, telephone

Innovator
of the week

Guillaume Mathieu
Founder - Cityzen Mobility

Happy new year

See also

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Expert talk

Robert Spizzichino | Partenaires Développement

Greater Geneva: an economic and social project at the heart of innovation

Urbanism | 12.16.11

The Greater Geneva project represents an economic and social challenge for that area spanning France and Switzerland. The aim is to set in motion again a process that will stimulate job creation in the French part and strengthen residential services in the Swiss part. Innovative activities should find their place in that territory.

Jean Haëntjens | Urbatopie

Innovation lies also in the strategy

Social | 09.08.11

Is the proliferation of urban innovations counter-productive? While some cities are experimenting with abandon and with no real apparent logic, others have adopted a long-term strategy to combine innovations to serve a smarter, more sustainable city. Jean Haëntjens returns to this forum to talk about how important it is for cities to approach innovation with consistency and control.

Zoom in

London’s transport system is transformed into a massive playground

And what happens when a public transport network becomes the scene of gigantic team games? Inspired by the principle of Fun Theory, which suggests that environmentally responsible behavior can be encouraged through attractive infrastructure, Chromaroma invites London Underground users to participate in an eco-citizen turf war.

Blogs review

Pop-Up City , the blog of Jeroen Beekmans

Rotterdam’s Crowd-Funded Pedestrian Bridge

Urbanism | 01.05.12

The International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam (IABR) and Rotterdam-based architecture firm ZUS have launched the project I Make Rotterdam, a spectacular temporary pedestrian bridge between the city’s Central and the North districts that will be financed through crowd-funding.

Quinte & Sens , the blog of Olivier Genevois

In Caracas, mimes ease traffic tension

Education | 11.07.11

Venezuela’s capital Caracas plans to manage its traffic flow in an unusual fashion. In addition to traffic police, 120 mimes dressed up as clowns were sent into the city’s streets. Their role? Curb the risky behavior of pedestrians and drivers, not by force or repression, but through silence.

Agenda Innov'in The City

May 9 to 11
Energy Cities annual meeting, Guimarães, Portugal.

May 12
International Workshop on Open Data, Nantes, France.

May 12
Stockholm Summit on Service Innovation in Cities, Stockholm, Suède.

Innovative city zoom

Toulouse has tackled issues ranging from urban lighting to public cleanliness with experimental innovation often on a shoestring budget, but the results continue to inspire many other cities in France and worldwide. A portrait of a city embracing urban innovation, helped along by the enthusiastic investigator Alexander Marciel, follows.