Shorts and sleeping bags that can charge your phone while you run or sleep unveiled

Vodafone has unveiled a rather strange new device that might turn out to be very practical. The company has unveiled Power Shorts and Recharge Sleeping Bag, which have the capability to tap into the human body’s heat and movement to boost the battery life of mobile devices.

It was developed by Vodafone alongside the Electronics and Computer Science Department at the University of Southampton. The aim of the technology is to provide a 24-hour source of power. It is primarily aimed at those who camp a lot or are at outdoor music events.

Power Shorts may look weird, but they sound very useful

The thermal energy tapped into by the technology—dubbed Power Pocket—is used by the sleeping bags so as to work when users are asleep. The movement energy is tapped into by shorts.

At the moment, a full day’s walking and dancing while wearing Power Shorts seems to give a smartphone enough juice to run for more than four hours. Sleeping for eight hours in the Recharge Sleeping Bag gives smartphones 11 hours worth of juice. However, all of this is subjective depending on usage of the smartphone.

“We are exploring two specific technologies to charge the Power Pocket: thermoelectrics and kinetic energy harvesting,” explained Stephen Beeby, Professor of Electronic Systems at the University of Southampton, according to Express . “Both represent cutting edge research around smart fabrics and we are looking to integrate these into consumer products, in this case, a sleeping bag and a pair of denim shorts.”

“Our ambition was to create a practical but exciting solution to the charging-related issues experienced by many at outdoor events,” said Vodafone UK’s Director of Communications Christian Cull. “We hope that people harness the power in their pocket to keep them chatting, texting, browsing and photographing throughout their entire festival season!”