Skip to main content

This energy-generating treadmill cuts your waistline and your power bill

SportsArt's Verde Treadmill - The World's First Energy Producing Treadmill

SportsArt was on hand at CES 2019 with its latest piece of sustainable sports equipment – the Verde G690 treadmill. More than just your run-of-the-mill treadmill, the Verde G690 is the world’s first treadmill that can pump electricity back into the grid during a workout. It joins SportsArt’s other energy-producing fitness gear which includes an elliptical, a cross trainer and various indoor cycles.

Recommended Videos

More CES 2019 coverage

Known for its sustainable fitness equipment, SportsArt saw a way to harness the human-powered energy expended on a treadmill and turn it into usable electricity. As part of the company’s Eco-Powr line, the Vere G690 uses people power to operate instead of a motor. With every step or stride, the treadmill generates energy. It can capture up to 74 percent, about 200 Watts/hour, of the energy being produced when someone walks or runs on the treadmill.

This upcycled power is then returned it to the grid, reducing the user’s carbon footprint. Not only does the treadmill capture energy, but it also tracks the number of Watts given back to the grid. Thanks to SportsArt’s SA Well+ system each treadmill user can monitor the amount of electricity they are producing when they run, walk or sled. A leader board encourages people to continue to exercise so they can produce more energy. Driven by a mobile app, the SA Well+ System tracks the user’s workout stats as well.

Being able to turn calories into power is the main feature of the G690, but that’s not all the treadmill has to offer. The G690 has all the necessary features a person would want in a treadmill — including a speed range of 2 to 10 mph, an ample running area, and a comfortable slatted belt with a brake to stop the belt as soon as you step off the machine. The G690 supports running, walking, sprinting, and even helps people train for sled pushing.

Users can choose from a variety of different programs including manual, interval, plateau, random and more. A contact heart rate monitor allows users to track their heart so they can exercise at their optimum level. There is no adjustable incline, but the treadmill is set at a low, fixed degree angle. If a user wants a more aggressive workout, they can choose the push mode which offers up to six levels of resistance.

Visit SportsArts website for additional information on the G690 including technical specifications as well as pricing and availability which are available upon request.

Kelly Hodgkins
Kelly's been writing online for ten years, working at Gizmodo, TUAW, and BGR among others. Living near the White Mountains of…
The UK’s Wayve brings its AI automated driving software to U.S. shores
wayve ai automated driving us driver assist2 1920x1152 1

It might seem that the autonomous driving trend is moving at full speed and on its own accord, especially if you live in California.Wayve, a UK startup that has received over $1 billion in funding, is now joining the crowded party by launching on-road testing of its AI learning system on the streets of San Francisco and the Bay Area.The announcement comes just weeks after Tesla unveiled its Robotaxi at the Warner Bros Studios in Burbank, California. It was also in San Francisco that an accident last year forced General Motors’ robotaxi service Cruise to stop its operations. And it’s mostly in California that Waymo, the only functioning robotaxi service in the U.S., first deployed its fleet of self-driving cars. As part of its move, Wayve opened a new office in Silicon Valley to support its U.S. expansion and AI development. Similarly to Tesla’s Full-Self Driving (FSD) software, the company says it’s using AI to provide automakers with a full range of driver assistance and automation features.“We are now testing our AI software in real-world environments across two continents,” said Alex Kendall, Wayve co-founder and CEO.The company has already conducted tests on UK roads since 2018. It received a huge boost earlier this year when it raised over $1 billion in a move led by Softbank and joined by Microsoft and Nvidia. In August, Uber also said it would invest to help the development of Wayve’s technology.Just like Tesla’s FSD, Wayve’s software provides an advanced driver assistance system that still requires driver supervision.Before driverless vehicles can legally hit the road, they must first pass strict safety tests.So far, Waymo’s technology, which relies on pre-mapped roads, sensors, cameras, radar, and lidar (a laser-light radar), is the only of its kind to have received the nod from U.S. regulators.

Read more
Aptera’s 3-wheel solar EV hits milestone on way toward 2025 commercialization
Aptera 2e

EV drivers may relish that charging networks are climbing over each other to provide needed juice alongside roads and highways.

But they may relish even more not having to make many recharging stops along the way as their EV soaks up the bountiful energy coming straight from the sun.

Read more
Ford ships new NACS adapters to EV customers
Ford EVs at a Tesla Supercharger station.

Thanks to a Tesla-provided adapter, owners of Ford electric vehicles were among the first non-Tesla drivers to get access to the SuperCharger network in the U.S.

Yet, amid slowing supply from Tesla, Ford is now turning to Lectron, an EV accessories supplier, to provide these North American Charging Standard (NACS) adapters, according to InsideEVs.

Read more