This Technology Charges Your Smartphone With A Finger Swipe!
According to new research, scientists are looking for better ways to keep phones alive for more than their usual battery lifespan. They are considering charging smartphones with just a finger swipe, through a film-like device that can help harvest energy from human motion. The researchers say using the device, known as a nanogenerator, they could operate an LCD touch screen, a bank of 20 LED lights and even a flexible keyboard all with a simple touching or pressing motion that did not need the help of a battery.
Must See: Best 15 Science Applications For Android And iOS Users
“We’re on the path towards wearable devices powered by human motion,” said Nelson Sepulveda, who is an associated professor at the Michigan State University in the US and lead investigator of the project. He shared, “What I foresee, relatively soon, is the capability of not having to charge your cell phone for an entire week, for example, because that energy will be produced by your movement.“
Tech2 explained that the film is made using a silicon wafer which is then fabricated with several layers, or thin sheets, of environmentally friendly substances including silver, polyamide and polypropylene ferroelectret.
Ions are added so that each layer in the device contains charged particles and the energy is created when the device is compressed by mechanical energy (human motion).The completed device is called a biocompatible ferroelectret nanogenerator, or The completed device is called a biocompatible ferroelectret nanogenerator, or FENG.
The device is as thin as a sheet of paper and can be adapted to many applications and sizes. researchers say because the device is lightweight, flexible, biocompatible, scalable, low-cost and robust, it could make a promising and alternative method in the field of mechanical-energy harvesting for many autonomous electronics like wireless headsets, cell phones and other touchscreen devices.
Must See: Nokia D1C Android Smartphone Will Cost You Below $150
Remarkably, the technology, which is already powerful, becomes more powerful when it is folded. “Each time you fold it you are increasing exponentially the amount of voltage you are creating,” Sepulveda said. “You can start with a large device, but when you fold it once, and again, and again, it is now much smaller and has more energy. Now it may be small enough to put in a specially made heel of your shoe so it creates power each time your heel strikes the ground.”
Researchers are developing technology that would transmit the power generated from the heel strike to the wireless headset. The study was published in the journal Nano Energy.
Don’t Miss this: