Turns out, your morning coffee can do much more than give you a simple (albeit much-needed) jolt of caffeine. The heat it emits is pure energy with potential; but while your hot cup sits on the table, that energy is totally wasted. This is where two Copenhagen design students, Sergey Komardenkov and Vihanga Gore, decided to step in.
After noticing a prime opportunity to conserve and reuse lost energy, the duo developed what they're calling "Heat Harvest." The project includes a set of heat sensors that collect and store otherwise wasted energy by charging up sort of like solar panels. This stored energy can then be used for other purposes.
Heat Harvest's sensor pads have been embedded into a tabletop. Said sensors pick up the heat—through conduction—that comes off household items you place atop them, including hot pans, tea kettles, and even laptops. The sensors then put that energy to use on other electronic devices. Essentially, that hot cup of coffee could charge your cell phone.
Smithsonian reports that this concept was born from Space10, a new IKEA-funded "future-living lab and exhibition space" in Copenhagen created via a partnership with Copenhagen School of Interactive Design. It's essentially a space furnished with hacked IKEA furniture that supports sustainable living. Komardenkov, from Moscow, has a background in programming and database architecture; Gore, from Mumbai, is an exhibition and retail space designer. Their match-up makes complete sense for a tech-wired table.
Unfortunately, there aren't immediate plans to bring Heat Harvest to the consumer market. However both Komardenkov and Gore feel strongly that devices like this will soon be featured in homes (and maybe coffee shops?) of the future. Plus, they said, with the climate summit underway in Paris, the world is looking very acutely at sustainable technology.
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