Toothbrush is electricity-free but oh, those brushstrokes

(Tech Xplore)—Nobody can deny the very idea of a battery-free toothbrush doing a very efficient job of brushing morning and night does sound like a good idea. Cables, adapters, charging, batteries, begone.

The company behind this idea is Portland, Oregon-based Goodwell Co. "As we looked deeper into the electric toothbrush market, we quickly realized there was a growing demand."

People were interested in taking care of their teeth and Goodwell was willing to respond but with one exception: "We don't make an electric toothbrush."

Products for a sustainable environment reflect their underlying principles. Their About Us statement: "GOODWELL+CO. was created to offer a sustainable alternative to the plastic toothbrushes that are sold by the billions every year and go un-recycled, only to end up in landfills."

To date, they have sold manual and toothbrushes and toothpaste with compostable packaging, along with biodegradable flossers.

Now, using a smart pressure sensor, they have come up with an electricity-free toothbrush that is being shown on Kickstarter. It is the Be. toothbrush.

Be. stands for Beyond Electric. It took 2.5 years to develop the patented technology but now they are ready to carry this further with a Kickstarter campaign.

Nick Lavars in New Atlas summed up what makes it run. "'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."

Can you wait until December 2018? They are now taking pledges and they have an earlybird price at $49 at the time of this writing.

So where is the power coming from? The energy comes via a simple twist of the brush. It's a matter of two twists into "over 80,000 tartar fighting brush strokes using its patented multiplier transmission system," said Julian Horsey in Geeky Gadgets.

Horsey also spoke of "80,000 charcoal infused brushstrokes."

Be. uses Binchotan in its bristles, the team said, to help with Ph balancing, odor absorption and anti-microbial purification. "Activated charcoal helps eliminate foul odors in your mouth," said the team, "as well as balance the pH and fight the germs that cause gingivitis and tooth decay."

Lavars in New Atlas said that "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."

Step by step instructions: Put pea-sized amount of toothpaste on bristles, give the dial two twists, for a full charge. Press the on button. The brush goes for 2 minutes (it automatically stops). If you want to stop it before then, you can. Hit the button.

Be.'s smart sensor operates at a tartar-fighting pressure of 120g, said Horsey.

A snap-on travel case creates a cylinder.

Will people like the idea enough to meet their $30,000 goal? The answer is quite clear. The page shows pledges amounting to $132,763 with 38 days to go at the time of this writing.

Lavars in New Atlas: "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)."

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