He invented shoes that produce electricity while walking with a wind-up radio: Who is Trevor Graham Baylis?

Trevor Graham Baylis was born in Kilburn, north-west London, on 13 May 1937 and grew up in Southall. His father was an engineer. At a very young age, he was introduced to a 'Meccano' building set that would feed his admiration for mechanical things. Thus emerged Baylis' passion, which he would never give up until his death.

Young Baylis contributed to the family income by waking up at 3 a.m. every morning and delivering milk. He was also a master swimmer. He left Dormers Wells Modern Secondary School at the age of 15 to work in the soil mechanics laboratory of a local business. He also attended daily courses on mechanical and structural engineering.

Both Swimmer and Inventor

Baylis served as a sports instructor in the British Army for four years, starting in 1957. After his service in the army, he started working at Purley Pools, one of the companies that sold detached swimming pools.

Trevor Graham Baylis (13 May 1937 – 5 March 2018) was an English inventor best known for the wind-up radio. The radio, instead of relying on batteries or external electrical source, is powered by the user winding a crank. This stores energy in a spring which then drives an electrical generator. Baylis invented it in response to the need to communicate information about AIDS to the "people of Africa". He ran a company in his name dedicated to helping inventors to develop and protect their ideas and to find a route to market.

While he initially worked as a salesman, he later moved to the company's research and development department. Thanks to his swimming skills, he attracted the attention of the crowd at pool presentations. This led him to establish a seafood display company after a while.

Baylis, who was a physical education instructor in the army and an underwater stuntman in the Berlin State Circus, had endless talents. The inventor, who is a national swimmer, also performed demonstrations of escaping from chains underwater.

The life of Trevor Baylis, who spent his spare time inventing, changed in 1991. He had watched a documentary on television about the spread of AIDS on the African continent.

The Invention of the Wind-Up Radio

When Baylis watched this documentary about how AIDS spread, he realized a very important problem; information sharing. He learned that as long as people are knowledgeable about protecting themselves from the disease, deaths will decrease significantly. Then he started thinking about how to deliver this information to the most remote corners of the world.

There was no electricity in some parts of Africa. There was no television at all. There weren't many radios because batteries were expensive. After months of work and research, Baylis discovered a radio that could be installed without the need for electricity or batteries.

He invented a radio made of simple and cheap materials that did not need batteries or electricity. This wind-up radio could largely eliminate the public's problem of communicating and receiving news. Baylis managed to create a mechanism that provided uninterrupted power for 14 minutes by turning its arm for two minutes.

Baylis received a patent in 1993. However, he failed to convince investors how important his invention was. In 1994, the power of the media came into play and things changed completely. After the product was introduced in the BBC program called 'Tomorrow's World', there was a demand for the product called 'Baylis Freeplay Radio'.

Another problem arose when it came to planning mass production. It was very difficult to make a small radio and a small winding mechanism. However, unlike Europeans, the size of radios in Africa was considered an indicator of status.

Thus began the production of large wind-up radios for Africans. Inventor Baylis recently adapted the winding technology to the laptop.

Trevor Baylis believed that the key to success was to risk unconventional thinking. It was this mentality that enabled him to develop the wind-up radio after he realized the importance of informing Africans about HIV and AIDS.

Baylis Won Awards for His Invention

Without the need for electricity or batteries, it enabled those living in remote areas to receive life-saving information. However, despite the success of this and his other inventions, Baylis did not make big money from many of his ideas.

Baylis founded the company 'Freeplay Energy', which produces wind-up radios, in 1996; It won the BBC Design Award for Best Product and Best Design. He met Nelson Mandela and the Queen.

In the same year, Baylis went to Africa with the Dutch Television Service to shoot a documentary about his life. That year he won the 1996 World Vision Award for this development initiative.

The following year, in 1997, a South African company began producing a smaller, cheaper version of Baylis's wind-up radio. However, once again, Baylis was unable to make money from his product.

Regarding this issue, Baylis said, "My mistake was that I trusted the people I worked with." He eventually lost control of this design. But despite all the difficulties, Baylis continued to produce new ideas, including a shoe that could generate electricity while walking.

He earned enough money to set up his home and workshop on Eel Pie Island in London's River Thames.

The Invention of the Electric Shoe

In 2001, Baylis demonstrated his new electric shoe invention and raised money to complete a 100-mile trek across the Namib Desert off the coast of South Africa.

The shoes were developed in collaboration with the UK's Defense Assessment and Research Agency. These shoes feature piezoelectric contacts on the heels to charge a battery that can be used to power a radio transceiver or cell phone. Piezoelectricity refers to the electrical charge that accumulates in certain solid materials in response to applied mechanical stress.

In the 1997 Birthday Honors, Trevor Baylis was awarded the 'Order of the British Empire' for his humanitarian services. In addition to receiving 11 honorary degrees from UK universities, he received honorary doctorates from Heriot-Watt University in 2003 and Leeds Metropolitan University in 2005.

At the 2015 New Year's Honors Awards, he was awarded the Order of the British Empire and the title of knight for his services.

Baylis then helps inventors and engineers protect their ideas and successfully bring products to market; He founded the Trevor Baylis Foundation in London in 2003 to help, protect, support, and encourage.

The primary purpose of the foundation was to provide licensing agreements for inventors and engineers. He also aimed to build new companies around good ideas.

Trevor Baylis never married, believing that no woman would endure his turmoil and working hours. Baylis had no living relatives. Until his death, he devoted himself to helping inventors develop, preserve, and find a way to develop their ideas.

He has led numerous campaigns against intellectual property theft. And, he died in London on March 5, 2018, at the age of 80.