An electric toothbrush removes a lot of the legwork in keeping your pearly whites shining brightly, but they aren't much use when the battery runs flat. "Be" is a quite brilliant battery-free brush that uses kinetic energy from a simple twisting motion to offer the benefits of a motorized tooth scrubbing, without the forethought (and waste) involved with its electrified brethren.
"Be" stands for beyond electric, and its makers Goodwell + Co bill it as the world's first battery-free powered toothbrush. It looks much like a standard electric toothbrush with a thick body and slimmer brush head, but packs no battery inside. Rather, the brush is powered up through a twisting mechanism at its base, just like wind-up music box. But instead of playing tunes, two quick twists will send the brush heads spinning for a good two minutes, in which time it delivers no less than 80,000 strokes.
Be's creators put a lot of emphasis on the brush's eco-friendly credentials, and these don't end with the absence of a lithium-ion of battery. The body is made from recyclable materials and the biodegradable brush heads and bristles are made from starch, bamboo and activated charcoal, the latter of which is already used in some other toothbrush bristles for its whitening abilities.
Any effort to cut down on waste is certainly a noble one, but we get the feeling the sheer convenience of the Be brush might be its biggest selling point (no more reaching for your powered toothbrush in the morning to find it has run out of battery). It also comes with a handy snap-on travel case if you need to brush your teeth on the run.
The team is running a Kickstarter campaign to get Be into production. Early pledges of US$49 are available, with shipping slated for December next year if all goes to plan. You can check out the pitch video below.
Source: Goodwell + Co
