Sitting for hours hunched over a laptop would be healthier if you were sitting at a desk with a built-in cycle underneath, where pedaling would generate electrical power to charge your laptop.
The design firm Pedal Power created two such cycling generators that produce electrical power known as Big Rig and Pedal Genny. Pedaled by the average adult, the machines can produce up to 100 watts of electricity, which would be able to charge a laptop or cell phone. The purpose of the bike technology is to raise awareness around how difficult it is to actually produce energy.
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Big Rig features a built-in seat and work surface so users can switch easily between different tasks. You could potentially cycle to electrically power various everyday tasks like appliance charging, food processing or water pumping. The more portable Pedal Genny comes with an optional seat and is intended to generate power for one function at a time.
As the cofounders of Pedal Power, Andy Wekin and Steve Blood worked on the first prototype in 2008, and are now launching their bicycle technology on Kickstarter. They found their inspiration through their involvement in upstate New York's farming community.
"I have always loved bicycles and building things," said Wekin in an email to Mashable. "In 2008, Steve and I were working with a group of families to design a low-energy agriculturally-based intentional community in Vermont. We identified the need for more efficient use of human power in tasks and started imagining a stationary bike that could do useful work."
Wekin and his fellow "green" farmer friends once used both generators to process food for a 30-person feast. They ground grain into flour for bread, ran a pasta machine, made applesauce, mashed up apples for cidering and powered an ice cream churn — all by pedaling.
Pedal Power's Kickstarter campaign has the goal of raising $10,000 to fund its made-to-order machines by Dec. 30. As of Tuesday, backers had contributed more than $4,500.
Those donating $350 will receive a kit for the Pedal Genny system, but they will have to weld it themselves. Those pledging $650 or more will receive the Pedal Genny by April, and backers who give $2000 or more will get the Big Rig by May.
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Image: Pedal Power Kickstarter Campaign