@YahooTech [1] editor @gilbertjasono [2] (Jason O. Gilbert) reports that at the White House’s first ever Maker Faire [3] on Wednesday, startup Changing Environments [4] showed off the Soofa, a bench that can charge your cellphone using the solar power it collects throughout the day…
[5]
The team behind the Soofa (from left to right) Jutta Friedrichs, Sandra Richter, and Nan Zhao sit on their solar powered bench (picture credit: Soofa)
The USD 3,000 bench has a box with a built-in solar panel and two USB ports that allow you to charge your phone (not yet an iPad allegedly) according to Yahoo Tech [6].
Interestingly, especially in terms of IoT, the reports says that Soofa isn’t just about phone charging – it also contains noise and air sensors that constantly collect data and send it over 4G to Soofa’s website [7], which lets people know where there is an available bench (and it says “in a quiet location, with fresh air”).
The first benches were paid for by Cisco Systems and thus far, 10 benches have been installed in Boston.