Shoes made for charging

The chip, once installed into a regular shoe, generates electricity when you step on it, and can be harvested in one of two ways. You can either charge a phone while in motion through a thin extension cable running from your shoe to your pocket, or, you can choose to store the electric energy and charge your phone after you have stopped walking or running, after taking your shoes off.
MUTUA, the technology’s inventor, expects the crystals to go into mass production very soon, especially due to the fact that they can store energy, which could make them very popular for “people looking to charge phones as a commercial activity”. It is not yet clear whether his crystals will be able to power any phone, “dumb” or smart, but he has announced that the technology has the ability to charge several devices simultaneously. This is, of course, if you walk enough.
The chip can be inserted inside the sole of any shoe, with the exception of bathroom slippers, and you shouldn’t worry too much about deteriorating or wearing out your footwear, as the crystals can always be transferred from an old shoe to a new one.
Hands down, this has got to be one of the coolest pieces of innovation we have heard of in a while, and the essence of it is priceless in this continent. Considering that there are still vast areas of the continent that lack adequate supply of electricity, and those that do still experience frequent power outages, this crystals will come in handy to a huge number of people if they ever go into mass production.
At the moment a fair price of ksh 4,000 will be able to buy you this chip and to fit them to shoes of your liking within no time. This is a very fair price considering that it is a pioneer piece of technology and it is yet to be mass produced.
The National Council of Science and Technology (NCST) has funded the project with around ksh 500,000 so far, but Anthony Mutua has been promised additional financial help for getting the technology to mass production and to larger markets beyond Kenya.
I personally think that that innovation has the potential to go really big ( m-pesa big, you know), as it has the ability to provide an alternative and easy to use energy source for cell phones worldwide while encouraging people to do more physical exercise at the same time. So next time your battery is running low, and you are thinking of taking a taxi or boda-boda so as to get home quick, you might think it might be nice to walk for a change.