Roll-on Charger for Rural India

A Mumbai-based company has developed a hand-powered charger for the electricity-deprived rural India.

The Roto Charger helps users tap power by either cranking or rolling the device any time they need to top up charge on their phone. A decade ago, India had less than 10 million telephones and the growth rate was meager. The country was heading towards a billion people, but had amongst the lowest tele- densities in the world. Now, India is the second largest telecom market in the world, thanks to the entry of wireless communication devices such as cell phones. Even the villages of India are witnessing the urge to get connected to the rest of the world by possessing mobile phones. This urge has the potential to change the dynamics of communication across India’s villages but is largely affected by the lack of basic infrastructure like electricity.

Environment friendly The Roto Charger can charge a cell phone battery by just rolling the device on any surface or rotating the handle by hand. Credit: Courtesy of ideaForge

For the mobile phone users of rural India, therefore, topping up a cell phone’s battery is a major problem. But there’s nothing to worry about, says Rahul Singh, director of ideaForge, who has a solution to offer. The Mumbai-based technology firm has developed the world’s first sustainable hand- powered mobile phone charger, the Roto Charger.

The Roto Charger helps users tap power by either cranking or rolling the device any time they need to top up charge on their phone or to survive it the next hour or to make that last call. What differentiates the Roto Charger from other similar devices is that the user can charge the mobile phone in two ways, by rotating the handle or by rolling the device on any surface. “Not only in villages, our charger is well-received in urban areas also. The small, light-weight device is definitely a resource of power for those who travel a lot,” says Singh, adding, “Even mobile phone manufacturers and cellular service providers can distribute our device in the villages to ensure better connectivity of villagers.”

The Roto Charger has been designed in such a way that it becomes easy to use in any circumstance. “Even if you are talking on phone, you can charge the cell by rolling the charger with one hand on any surface,” explains Singh.

Priced at Rs 450, the environment-friendly energy solution can be used even while talking by the single hand roll-on mode. The device takes just one minute of rotation to provide three minutes of talk time and about 30 minutes of stand-by time. Also, it is safe to use for the cell phone batteries. In fact, the lower charging currents can lead to a better battery life.

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“We have also developed a series of chargers that help you tap charge for your mobile phones wherever you are, from whatever is the nearest and the most convenient source. By doing so, we are ensuring the freedom of the customers while considering the importance of a green world. Now users can keep their gadgets alive,” says Singh. The company has filed a patent for the charger. Even though the technology developed by ideaForge is not cutting-edge, it surely paves the way for the development of more sustainable products and technologies in future.

Shyam PV is senior correspondent of Technology Review India.