Freeplay, the company that gave the world the clockwork radio, is now building a system for the US military that will power a global positioning system (GPS) handset and a landmine detector powered by clockwork. According to the Economist, the system will incorporate Freeplay’s latest technology that uses the clockwork mechanism to recharge a battery.
The creation of UK inventor Trevor Baylis, Freeplay has moved from its original clockwork radio that found a ready market in the third world, to powering laptops, GSM phones and now battlefield equipment. Since battery life is a major limiting factor in the use of portable devices, an apparently archaic system like clockwork has suddenly found a new lease of life.
Equally, the technology has now moved forward and its next generation clockwork radio will play for an hour after the spring is wound for 30 seconds. For the US military, Freeplay is likely to replace a battery with an ultracapacitor that can retain stored power indefinitely.
