FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – The Department of Defence has reaffirmed its commitment to an innovative made-in-Canada technology that harvests electricity from the natural movement of walking.

The Defence Industrial Research Program—a Canadian federal-government initiative that funds promising emergent technologies—has renewed and extended its existing development contract with Bionic Power, based just outside Vancouver, B.C.

The company is now testing and refining its prototype Bionic Energy Harvester, an unobtrusive wearable device that resembles a knee brace. The harvester will eventually allow a dismounted soldier to charge a battery while walking with very little additional effort.

"We’re pleased to be able to assist this innovative company as it progresses towards a field-ready product," said Dr. Robert S. Walker, the CEO of Defence Research and Development Canada. "When it comes to the science of human-energy harvesting, this small and impressively motivated team is presently leading the world."

Without adding any noticeable effort on the part of the wearer, a pair of the harvesters working together will passively extract up to 10 watts of power—two minutes of walking will generate about one-and-a-half hour’s worth of talk time on a mobile phone. The power could be used to charge a battery for a radio, GPS or other device.

"As more and more technology works its way into the field, the power needs of soldiers will only escalate," said Walker. "We expect the Bionic Energy Harvester will one day allow those in the service to charge their batteries ‘on the go,’ freeing them from having to carry a heavy load of disposables."

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Time magazine is honoring an innovative Canadian device that harvests energy from the ordinary motion of walking, calling it one of the Best Inventions of 2008.

Invented by Bionic Power, a technology company spun out of Simon Fraser University earlier this year, the Biomechanical Energy Harvester represents a significant advance in the emerging field of portable power.

The device is "perhaps the most promising in a class of products that harvest energy — all the more important at a time when portable tech, from Blackberries to iPods, is becoming ubiquitous," the magazine says in an edition that hits newsstands on Oct 31.

"We've poured our hearts and minds into this project for years," says Donelan, the company's chief science officer. "We're truly honored to rub shoulders on this list with some of the world's leading researchers, thinkers and entrepreneurs."

The wearable, lightweight energy harvester resembles a slim-profile orthopedic knee brace. Without adding any noticeable effort on the part of the wearer, a pair of the devices working together will passively extract up to 13 watts of power—one minute of walking will generate about half an hour worth of talk time on a mobile phone.

BURNABY, BC, CANADA – A new start-up company is commercializing a breakthrough invention that generates electricity from the natural motion of walking and uses it to power a broad range of portable devices.

The Biomechanical Energy Harvester is the focus of a peer-reviewed article in the February 8 edition of the academic journal Science. The device, which resembles an orthopedic knee brace, can generate up to five watts of power without creating any noticeable effort for the wearer.

By way of example, one minute of walking with the device could deliver enough power to support 10 minutes worth of "talk time" on a typical mobile phone.

"Our technology is really about freedom," says Yad Garcha, CEO of Bionic Power Inc., which developed the invention. "We free people from the weight, hassle, and worry that come with carrying and managing multiple battery packs."

"It opens up new frontiers for soldiers, the disabled, and others who really depend on portable power," adds Garcha. "And it challenges us to imagine new products that might previously not have been possible."

The privately-held Bionic Power is presently exploring strategic partnerships in the defense and biomedical markets. Eventually, the company expects to expand into the consumer-electronics sector.

"The armed forces presently spend literally hundreds of millions of dollars getting disposable batteries into the field," explains Garcha. "The Energy Harvester not only lightens a soldier's load--allowing him to travel farther and faster--but it could radically reduce shipping and logistics costs."

The company also believes its technology can significantly enhance quality of life for the disabled. According to the American Orthotic & Prosthetic Association, in 2005 Medicare