Gizmodo: hamsters

Nanopiezoelectric Jacket Harnesses Power From Hamster Movement

Mark Wilson — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 18:00:00 EDT

Nanopiezoelectric research hopes to pull tiny amounts of power from minuscule movements, like breathing. Now, Georgia Tech researchers have made a nanopiezoelectric jacket for hamsters that successfully generates .1 volts of electricity.

Woven from zinc oxide nanowires (strands that are 1/50th the width of a human hair), Georgia Tech's hamster jacket is the first nanopiezoelectric device to successfully harvest energy from animals. How much energy could those hamsters produce in real world application? Right now, it would take 1,000 hamsters to charge a cellphone. A human-sized jacket could power an iPod.

Since the theory has been proven to work in a lab setting, there's nothing stopping the technology from being scaled to fit humans—other than the obvious engineering hurdles that must be crossed to make a giant nanotech jacket. Such large scale testing should commence in about three years, according to researchers. [msnbc via Geekologie]

Hamster-Controlled Roomba Lets Your Hamster Decide What Gets Cleaned

Adam Frucci — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 20:00:00 EST

Sure, a Roomba will methodically and accurately clean your floors, but wouldn't it be more fun to let chaos reign by throwing the controls of your robotic vacuum over to a hamster?

Some engineers with some free time on their hands decided to retrofit a Roomba with a mechanism that allowed it to be controlled via hamster ball. That is to say, whichever way the hamster runs, the Roomba goes. I'm sure it's quite liberating for the hamster, but I wouldn't count on your floors getting too clean. [Networkworld via Gadget Review]

How Many Hamsters Does It Take To Power a Device?

Wilson Rothman — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 21:30:00 EST

The answer is four, say scientists at Georgia Tech. If you are high now or plan to be soon, watch this video a few times. You can thank me later. [Full Story: Technology Review]

The Hamster Rocket Is a Blast!

Mark Wilson — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 18:20:00 EST

Most hamsters are content to hang out on a wheel all day. The intrepid prefer a ball. But the truly courageous, they long to go where no hamster has gone before.

The Hamster Rocket Ship Funhouse allows your furry little rodent to pretend he has all the opportunity of a NASA astronaut, while simultaneously making your hamster into a viable "pew pewing" device. As Captain Cricetinae takes to the skies, he will encounter all sorts of odd beasts (cats, dogs, scary children with firecrackers), strange new worlds (bedrooms, bathrooms, and various orifices) and exotic foods (well, pretty much just those weird pellet things and tap water).

And it's only $6. [Your Pets and More via Nerd Approved]

Hamster Wheel Powered Toy Car

Brian Lam — Mon, 05 May 2008 22:23:11 EDT

Here's a old but good idea in honor of Fuzzywuzzymodo: power a toy car by hamster. The Flintstones would approve. I personally think its a better use of hamster power to rig a traditional gerbil wheel with a generator capable of charging a battery which in turn can charge a USB device. I mean, how else are the vermin going to pay their rent? Vid after the jump. [PetGadgets]

Go-go Hamster Power

Travis Hudson — Tue, 30 Aug 2005 09:34:02 EDT

A 16-year-old boy has devised a way to charge his cell phone with the help of his hamster. Peter Ash of Lawford, Somerset designed a hamster wheel that utilized gears and turbines to charge his cell phone. According to his tests every two minutes of wheel time gives his phone 30 minutes of talk time. If only the hamster knew how he was being exploited for free energy he would be going on strike demanding bigger carrots and more wood bedding.

Hamster-powered phone charger [Via Treehugger]