iRock Rocking Chair – Charge Your iDevice by Rocking

So, we’ve seen a million and one different chargers for iPhones, iPods, and iPad’s but the iRock is probably one of the most unique devices you and I have ever laid our eyes on. The iRock rocking chair is developed by Micasa Lab, of Zurich, and is the world’s first power generating rocking chair (that we know of). This self-sufficient rocking chair is built out of fine Swedish oak and acts as a sound dock for your Apple device as well as a charging station.

Now grandma and grandpas back and forth motion can be put to good use with the iRock rocking chair. And when I say “back and forth motion”, I am referring to the rocking chair and not any creepy bedroom activities. This is a very cool and modern twist on a traditional piece of furniture. The rocking chair is hand-built and painted in five layers of white paint while using a winding mechanism to run the power-generator and charge a built-in battery.

The iRock features speakers built into the backrest, which are also powered by the rocking motion of the chair. The right hand-side arm features a built in iPad dock to keep you entertained as you slowly rock.

As cool as the iRock is, it does come with a hefty price tag of $1,300. This particular device can create enough juice to charge the iPad 3 to 35% with 60 minutes of casual rocking. That may not be super efficient but it’s a start…and it’s cool. I can already picture retirement homes across our city with old people rocking back and forth all day as they power our neighborhoods.

The good thing is that designers of the iRock have learned enough from this project to apply the power-generating mechanisms to stairs, drawers, and doors. So we might expect some cool Micasa Lab products coming out in the near future.

I’m pretty sure this type of technology can be applied to parks where kids can unsuspectingly produce power as they play on the merry-go-rounds, seesaws, and other playground equipment.