@Wahrheit:
Pretty high. Think about those power supplies in PCs. 300 watts is the low end. Consoles are pretty similar to PCs so you can guess it's pretty high.
Sorry fopr the double post.

M-26-7

@Cogito: Of course peddling faster makes charging faster. Electricity is easy to make. A magnetic field, a conductor, and relative motion. You can increase the amount produced by increasing any of these factors. The more conductors (see windings), a stronger magnetic field (a higher density of flux lines, like maybe use a n50 neodymium magnet to move near the windings), or more relative motion (move faster).

As far as fat kids, US isn't the only country, but I'm guessing we're near the #1 spot for the most.

SadisticFreek

@Cogito:
It's in America. Kids are fat here. I hardly see a problem with his statement. Plus it's a fact that America is the fatest country in the world.

M-26-7

On that note, what is the consumption of a ps3? Too lazy to check.

Wahrheit

Why couldn't you pedal AND play games at the same time?

chinesedentist

unless you're incredibly fit, 30Wh is what you could hope to generate in 30mins.

That would power a ps3 setup (including a hdtv) for about... 3 minutes. It would however give around 10 hours on a DS assuming 100% efficiency.

There's a lot of rubbish around on the amount of power humans can generate. It ranges from milliwatts in passive generation (dynamos in shoes, the seiko kinetic generators) to a max of about 80W of intense physical activity.

abigsmurf

@Cogito: Haha, keep it up and he'll flip out in your profile and you'll get a shoutout in his stream ID ^^

everybest

@Demonbird:

Eh, the other question is whether the weight problem is really a problem. I'd rather live in an overindulgent society where the most common "disease" amongst the poor is obesity than live somewhere where people are actually starving to death.

The notion of extra weight as something that's incredibly unhealthy is completely overblown, and BMI has some major flaws. Now obviously, someone who's actually categorized as "obese" is going to have some major health problems. But the "Overweight" category has less downsides than is bandied about. The most negative aspect of being overweight is being less attractive, really. And that's why you marry someone and THEN get fat.

<<

tzaketh

@Demonbird: I know that.

Jest

@Jest:
It isn't just America with the weight problem.

Demonbird

@Cogito: Thanks for flipping out.

Jest

Well maybe you could peddle all day, but it wouldn't really help you push the pedals on the bike.

Benzak

A human can average about a 1/4 horsepower so that comes out to about 100 whrs after a half hour of peddalling, that could run a Wii (picking the current gens least power hungry system) and a tv for about an hour. If they were running that to a charger for a gameboy they might be able to get about 10 hours or so out of that biking.

If the kids were smart they would pedal when they were "just" watching tv, and could make up some bonus time.

If they had a full batery (probably 35-50 amp hours if it's a standard size deep cycle lead acid) which would be about 600 watt hours, or 6 times what they could get in an hour, so 6 hours of wii / tv or about 2 hours of 360 / ps3, plus tv (unless it's a plasma).

These are just estimations, but pretty close.

RBecho

i'll asume it's not too much juice. 30 minutes of peddling = like an hour of PS3 power from reports i've been reading.

Rammykun

I agree, the amount of power you would need to generate for a reasonable game session on any console or PC would need to be much easier to do. 5-6 hours on a bike just aint gonna cut it. But if you could find a way to substantially increase the amount of energy you can generate, i don't see a reason not to use it.

Ironwolf220

I remember seeing something like this on TV when I was watching Saturday morning cartoons, so mid-90's, during a science minute thing they'd have between commercials. Even then, it looked like something that had been around for a while, but it seemed like you had to peddle pretty hard to get a 10-inch black and white TV going bright enough to see. I can't imagine being able to power a nice TV with console for very long with it...battery power or not.

BlueFlame

I remember seeing something exactly like this before, but nonetheless, it is terrifying, considering you wouldn't know how much battery life you would have left.

minimelo321

@Cogito: Every day is bash America today, where have you been.

Kenny

Any console chugs power like mad... You won't get many minutes out of that. You also have to power a TV.

It's feasible for charging batteries for a mp3 player, a portable console or a mobile, but it can't match the sheer energy consumption of a home console system.

Wahrheit

Not an electrical engineer, but for a console, it looks like you'd get between 30 seconds and two minutes of game time per minute of pedal time depending on your system and whether or not that includes a TV. If the battery was fully charged you'd get one or two hours, maybe more. Vastly more for a handheld.

xot

Maybe an NES but the modern PS3, 360, and SLi enabled PC rigs will not be satiated by peddle-power :|

okenny :( ... not sure what to believe in anymore

I'm certain I saw something just like this in a WWI movie. Except it was to power lights in the trenches or something like that.

t0yrobo

Much better than wiifit. This will actually make you lose weight.

RaepGoblin

@Jest: What is this, bash America day? Jesus. I didn't really the US was the only country with fat kids. Crimeny.

Cogito

Hm, interesting ideas. Though I think if more parents used the that headline then you may not even need the bike to power a battery. ;)

I wonder if you peddle faster if it charges faster? Or if you could hook up a huge battery, peddle for a day, and then play all next day w/o peddling.

I've barely even seen it and I'm already trying to break the system. There really is something wrong with me. :)

Cogito

Ha, I might just have to go to see this. Chicago isn't that far away from me and I like the Museum of Science and Industry.

timb18011234

This is an excellent idea. Something to hopefully counterbalance the weight problem of today's American kids.

Jest

I saw something like this in the 80s. Hardly anything new.

FishyJoe

Not much.

M-26-7

And they say video games make you fat.

Thorax

Cutting the power slowly/inconsistently like that could corrupt memory cards. It could certainly corrupt hard disk data if anything were cached pending a write.

Not to mention that depending on the particular battery type, it may vent hydrogen while charging...

fuchikoma

@everybest:
Had a a feeling someone was going to pull something like Luxembourg out on me. But yeah we probably have the most overweight people total, not per capita or whatever.

M-26-7

@everybest: Who knows? If he's a moron and he realizes it, then I won't have to indulge his profile, cupcake.

Jest

@Cogito: I doubt theres a speed limit unless you burn out the motor or break it mechanically. If the energy is going to a capacitor/battery, it'd be useless to pedal after it's fully charged.

everybest

@SadisticFreek: What I kinda meant was: How fast is thing capable of charging? Like, will it top out at 50 rpm because that's the system limitations? Or is it capable of handling ballistic workouts?

Cogito

@tzaketh: Except obesity (not just being overweight) is actually the problem :)

Does the article say it's powered soley by the bicycle, or can I "buy energy credits" from a machine that lets me power my Wii / Xbox / Playstation for a certain amount of time based on how long I ride my bike? That seems like it'd make more sense (you're still consuming more energy than you produce, but you're still putting some back).

Saxboy

@M-26-7: Probably the most overweight people in one country though.

everybest

@M-26-7: [www.forbes.com]

everybest

@M-26-7:
Yeah I know, but I kind of wanted a bit more exact information.

Time to check it out.

Wahrheit

Lol @ the title.

Being forced to pedal for electricity would suck.

.em.

Goddamn. This may be the only time I'm glad my parents are Republicans and have no patience for "greening" shit up.

peAr nectAr

@chinesedentist:

Cool. The Tour de France meets Call of Duty 4 MP. Forget your knife...you can beat your opponents to death with your massive calf muscles.

Plus, it'll unlock the Extreme Conditioning perk right off the bat.

DarthVegan

Al Gore uses 10x the electricity at his house as the average person in the US. And if you look at him, you can tell he doesn't spend much time on the old exercise bike either.

Kohath

This reminds me of that Fairly Oddparents episode, but they were using treadmills, I think.

shrek187

This makes me laugh! XD It's kind of ingenious if you ask me. There's always been a complaint of kids not exercising enough because of video games now they'll hafta exercise TO play video games! XD

PirateCapnSpazz

Ahh, articles like this are why I love Kotaku. The bike itself is worth a sentence or two, but the article itself is really what makes it. Excellent stuff.

And I agree with the others that say human power is probably not sufficient to run, say, a PS3.

man in gauze is king ramses II, silly.

This is a good idea, this would balance a very healthy exercise regime with gameplaying. Worst case scenario the kid refuses to exercise and can't game as a result. That said, I would have hated that when I was a kid...lol

PrivateJ0ker

We need to get this poor kid a DS.

mwoody

@Primed: If the parents were smart, they'd have cut off the end of the power cable and directly connected it to the generator.

everybest

Remember when being fat meant you had money and chicks dug you?

Neither do I.

Anyways, off to the beach with me! Surfing happily!

Black-Dog-Howls

Couldn't a kid, in theory, unplug their console from this rig, and then place the plug back in it's proper home in the wall? Because if this rig was forced upon me, I sure as hell would do that.

Primed

Hmm. That's kinda cool. I'm in good shape but don't exercise very much so this would be kinda good to have I guess. But it would defintely get VERY annoying if you were just playing your game having fun and everything and then you're all like "OH S**T! I DIDN'T BIKE LONG ENOUGH!"

lenandude

I see this whole concept fitting in neatly with the idea some people have that kids shouldn't be playing video games to begin with.

Think about it. By the time poor Timmy's done charging his stuff, he's way too exhausted to play any games. The battery runs down while he's gasping for breath.

It's like some sick health video from the 50's.

"Ha ha. Sorry son, guess you just can't play that fancy new thingamabob. I guess you've learned your lesson. (taps pipe into ashtray)"

WittyUserName

that bike needs a backrest, like the gym ones. and maybe a supplemental air turbine and solar panel. then could it power star wars arcade? i think that is all you'd need.

kyle

If you're living off the grid, this would be excellent. Or someplace that has a lot of power outages -- keep your handhelds charged up. "Crap. The power's going to be off till tomorrow. Guess I'll pedal till the PSP is charged and then pwn some Patapon."

It's probably not to be used directly, since the kid can't create enough power to actually run the system. But, like "okay Timmy, this battery is full, that means you've pedaled for half an hour, so you get X amount of video game time".

Evil Tortie's Mom

I personally would enjoy this. Really.

I'd like to ride and play at the same time. That way I could feel like Tourist Trophy is the real riding simulator. Maybe even have a fan or two blowing at me... with their speed affected by how hard I pedal the bike! zomg! :O

Yaywalter

Or forces the kid to build a device that turns the bike pedals for him.

Len Bias Cocaine Surplus

If it's a game aimed at 12-15 year-old boys, they'd simply need a contraption that attaches to their right arm - the excess energy captured from that will fuel a 50-station LAN party!

Trai_Dep

@lenandude:

If you don't exercise very much you aren't in good shape. You may not be apparently fat, but your muscles will always be the minimum size they have to be to do the work you do often.

Lavastine

I saw this or an identical thing a couple of years ago. Old news :P

Eon

a fun way to get them kids exercising while playing video games...obviously...i will biking while watching that 1 hour ending from that game we all like to call Metal Gear Solid 4

kingme

The Museum of Science and Industry, I love that place. It is impossible to see all of it in one day. I have tried. I live in Chicago, so I'll have to see this exhibit.

Dr. Nooooooooo

@Yaywalter:

That last sentence; it already exists. A family friend has onel whenever we went to their house I'd spent hours on it. The fan is the main wheel of the bike, with vents so that it blows the air into your face. The faster you pedal, the faster the fan spins. Plus it makes an awesome sound. The bike itself was pretty old; I'd say 15 years or so, and this was maybe 3-4 years ago.

man in gauze is king ramses II, silly.

Yeah great idea, except that battery will end up in a landfill someday. Hydroelectric power is available and doesn't pollute after you are finished playing with it. I loved how Earth Day was a big excuse for kids to blow boatloads of batteries and rechargeable power that was drawn from the grid beforehand in preparation (charging flashlights and gads, generators!) Couldn't even play a game of RISK for an hour, they had to have the plasma screen with PS3 blazing on the Motomaster Eliminator!

GOLD5

Ride, charge, play, lose a testicle! Brilliant!

SigmundTheSeaMonster

this thing+a brand new game= anorexia XD I would probably end up dieing from the lack of food and sleep along with the constant exercising lol

god I would love to have this in my room <3 I love bike riding and video games!

hrabbit

great idea!. this blows the Wii out of the water for interactive exercising. Where can I get one to improve an increasingly sedentary lifestyle. ;)

Awoken

They are not letting anyone actually try out the bike. Went there last month and the entire exhibit is pretty much hands off.

barcade

@Ironwolf220:
Unfortunately there`s an upper bound on the amount of power you can generate this way, that being the amount of power your legs are outputting as they push the pedals. You can`t have more than 100% efficiency.

Pantsman

The power output of competetive cyclists is ENORMOUS. Maybe there could be a burgeoning market in getting the local cycling team to come by your house and charge your batteries for you.

I would have loved something like this back when I was racing bikes. 45 minute trainer workout, then a couple of hours on the PS2. Its basically what I was doing anyway.

And I seem to remember a system that was being marketed about 10 years ago that was a bike trainer that integrated with your PS or PS2 that ran bike videos on your tv that were controlled by your power output. They put cameras on bikes on marketed (or planned to market) famous bike routes (Alp du Huez, etc.). I wanted one soooooo bad.

mikelbarnz

When I was a kid, my friend actually had one of these. I couldn't help but point and laugh at him.

MorbidLilim

Striker and Blade haha then after the battery full charge go grab a burger with the president

tecmos

@Wahrheit: @M-26-7: I just used the first site I could find on google, and it listed the Ps3 and 360 at about 200 watts, with the Wii using 20 watts. This is while running games for each of them.

Ad-hominem

My house is green colored and it has wiring. It must be a smart home.

digamma

Well, this is impossible for the Ps3 and 360. It might, might, be possible for the Wii if you don't have a TV connected to it.

Ad-hominem