Social Good Engineering Magazine: GineersNow Social Innovation GineersNow Engineering Magazine Issue No. 001 | Page 43

TOYS
A skipping
rope that
generates
electricity
by Robert Bagatsing
Photos Source: Vickian
If you are reading this article, you
are lucky – congratulations, you
have electricity. It is oftentimes hard
to imagine the extent of un-con-
nectedness in a world, where others
enjoy superfluous modernity. The
truth is there are still over a billion
people in the world without elec-
tricity, and the future remains bleak
for them that spend their nights in
darkness.

Children are among the
most impacted by the lack of light in
un-connected households. Because
their nights remain dark, children
cannot study their lessons and do
their homework, so either they don’t
learn much from what they are
studying, or they choose to abandon
school altogether and spend their
entire days at play. But, what if there
was actually not any conundrum?
What if they can repurpose the en-
ergy that they spend playing to fuel
basic devices of modern life, like
lights, so they can study and prepare
for their lessons? 

Introducing a skipping
rope whose length and handles light
up at night, called Jumping Lighting.
During the day, say after school,
children could have an hour of fun
playing with the skipping rope. The
movement of the cord between the
43
handles will charge the internal
batteries of the device, thanks to the
kinetic pendulum that builds up the
energy. With enough charge, once
turned on, the LED lamps within
the jump rope and its handles will
illuminate, giving off light that can
allow children to comfortably study
their lessons, and the adults to ade-
quately do household chores.   

Designed by Bae Gyu Ri
of Daegu University, Jumping Light-
ing is a winner of Korea’s Interna-
tional K-Design Award in 2014.

Jumping Lighting is a cool
toy for any child to have. But for
kids in dire need of lighting in their
homes, Jumping Lighting is more
than just for play – it is a source of
hope for a brighter future.
Photos Source: vickian.blogspot.com