Dead batteries are the scourge of any phone-wielding urbanite (and all horror movie characters, for plot purposes), but New Yorkers are about to get a reprieve. Pensa, a New York-based design firm with a string of innovative products, is working with solar company Goal Zero and AT&T on Street Charge, a system that allows you to charge your phone with a solar panel.
Essentially, they’ve created a battery-filled pole that has a trio of solar panels up top and waist-high ledges that let you plug your phone. Of course, because Street Charge uses solar power, it doesn’t require any cables, meaning a pole can be dropped pretty much anywhere with regular sunlight: unused sidewalk, the middle of a park, wherever.
Street Charge units will be on the streets of New York for the next ninety days, during which they’ll move around a few times. After that, the promotion comes to an end, but there’s no reason they can’t come to other cities. Hear that, Canadian mayors? Stop causing scandals and bring us innovative urban design ideas.
