The modern human powered clockwork radio was designed and patented in 1991 by British inventor Trevor Baylis as a response to the AIDS crisis. He envisioned it for poor people in developing countries without access to batteries.
He now runs Trevor Baylis Brands plc, a company dedicated to helping inventors to develop and protect their ideas and to find a route to market.
In 1994, British accountant Chris Staines and his South African partner Rory Stear, secured the worldwide license to the invention and cofounded Baygen Power Industries (Freeplay Energy PLC) which produced the first commercial model.
