Free energy is a luxury we all search for – some more successfully than others. The SOFT Rocker is a project that strives to combine function and fabulous design in a one-of-a-kind package: a sun lounger to relax on while re-charging device batteries using solar power. Professor Sheila Kennedy of MIT lead her architecture students in this challenging project, using the human power of balance to create an interactive 1.5 axis, 35 watt solar tracking system.
Using a 12-ampere hour battery to storing the solar energy captured during the day, the SOFT Rocker extends its re-charging power after sunset. This fantastic solar sunlounger not only charges and plays any USB device, but it also shelters social interactions at night by displaying its looping shape under colorful lights. It is amazing to see how special projects like this one combine both high-tech knowledge and the basic human motions to compose an inviting, visually engaging, solar-power functional object.
