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We have seen a lot of impressive-looking PC mice and keyboards over the years. We have seen mice that support switching different weights, and we have seen keyboards with backlighting, special keys and more. This week at CES, Lenovo has jumped in with a new mouse and keyboard combo that have an alternative source of energy; the human hand.
Lenovo’s press release calls this bundle the Mechanical Energy Harvesting Combo. In this case, the “mechanical energy” comes from humans. PC World reveals that the mouse has a hand crack that comes out from the bottom of the product. you can turn it for a few minutes and voila; the wireless mouse has enough energy to be used for about 30 minutes.
The keyboard actually has two alternate power sources. One is a bank of solar panels on top of the keyboard that can help charge it up. There’s also a dial on the top left corner of the keyboard. It’s not used for volume control, though. You spin it for about five minutes to power the keyboard for 30 minutes.
This new mouse and keyboard concept brings up visions of doomsday preppers who want to save as much of their power as they can after the apocalypse. Their PC might need some power, but they can save a few watts by turning the hand cracks around or, in the case of the keyboard, using some solar energy.
PC World says that both the mouse and keyboard can use their normal batteries. The mouse has a 12,800 DPI optical sensor, along with two main buttons and two secondary buttons. The keyboard has RGB backlighting effects. Both products can connect to a PC via Bluetooth or their own USB dongle.
Lenovo says these products are just concepts for now, adding they were designed “with Lenovo’s commitment to implementing more sustainable practices.” There’s no word when or even if they will be mass-produced and sold to the public.
