Chinese students design bicycle-powered washing machine

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University students in northeastern China have come up with a bike-powered washing machine that would let users get a great workout while also doing their laundry.

A graduate design project by students at Dalian Nationalities University has garnered widespread interest around the world on social media. The inspiration for the project came from live on campus, said tutor Liu Xuefei.

“While working out at the gym, my student Su Linhao thought: Why not turn the sweat into energy and make good use of it… like doing laundry? There wasn’t any laundry room on campus so the students had to wash their clothes by hand,” Liu said.

The concept is as simple as riding a bike, literally. While a rider pedals, the motion causes the drum of the washing machine to spin. Electricity is generated at the same time, which can power the bike’s display screen or be stored for future use.

While the concept isn’t new, none of the prior designs for such a bicycle have made it to market. The biggest barrier is finding out how to refill and drain water while someone pedals.

“There are technical difficulties in some parts of the design, and we didn’t have the facilities on campus to bring the product from concept to reality. The manufacturing companies that we’ve gotten in touch with didn’t show much interest because they lack motivation for innovation,” Liu said.

For now, the bike washing machine remains just a concept.