Just the other day, there came the news that a 15-year-old schoolgirl had a made a flashlight that glowed to life when you wrapped your hands around it. Ann Makosinski of Canada used Peltier tiles, which are devices that create an electric current when one side is heated while the other remains cool. The inside of the flashlight was hollow and cool, and when your hands warmed the outside, you created the dynamics for the creation of a current to light the bulb.
With the advance in technologies related to piezoelectricity and thermodynamics, the human body is being considered in more experiments by researchers to create power. Piezoelectricty depends on vibrations and movements for generation of an electric current, while the same is achieved in thermodynamics by ensuring differences in temperature at various parts of a device. Because the human body is built for numerous types of movement, from heart beats to locomotion, it excites the boffins. Look at what they have been able to come up with.
THOUGHT-PROPELLED FLYING MACHINE
Professor Bin He from the University of Minnesota and his young team used their thoughts to fly and steer a drone. The researchers found that when we move, or think about a movement, neurons in the brain produce tiny electric currents. Thinking about a different movement activates a new assortment of neurons. They harnessed this electricity via electrodes on a specially made electroencephalogram (EEG) cap.
POWER FROM THE NOSE
Another source of energy is human breathing. Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have come up with a way to harness breathing to trigger the piezoelectric effect and create microwatts of energy that could one day fuel sensors or other devices implanted in the body.
BLOOD POWER PROJECTS: Inspired by hydro power, engineers at Switzerland's University of Bern are focusing on "turbines" small enough to fit inside a human artery to work like an hydel-power generator. In fact, a prototype tested in a simulated artery produced 800 microwatts of electricity, more than adequate to energise a heart pacemaker.
WALKING DYNAMO
Student engineers from Rice University have gone a little bigger and developed a foot-powered generator called PediPower. It is capable of generating enough power to juice up a phone or another small portable gadget just by ambling along while wearing a shoe attachment. Every time weight is placed on the heel of the shoe, kinetic energy is created and transferred to a belted battery pack. The team hopes it can one day be used for, say, powering an artificial heart.
TOUCH IN ABSENTIA
And what about bridging the touch-feel gap? A wrist device called the Tactilu, created by Poland-based design studio Pangenerator, allows "transfer" of touch between two people anywhere in the world through haptic feedback via an Internet connection.
SLEEPING BAG ENERGISER
Scientists at the University of Southampton helped Vodafone come up with a sleeping bag that can convert body heat into power for small gadgets like smartphones and music players. It uses thermoelectric power generators called Power Pockets to convert some of your body heat into juice for your devices. Apparently, eight hours in the bag will provide enough power for 24 minutes of talk time.
Got any queries?
Are you foxed by your gadget and don't know who to turn to? If you need advice or help regarding cars and bikes, office and home gadgets and electronics of any kind, write to us at gear@bsmail.in
With the advance in technologies related to piezoelectricity and thermodynamics, the human body is being considered in more experiments by researchers to create power. Piezoelectricty depends on vibrations and movements for generation of an electric current, while the same is achieved in thermodynamics by ensuring differences in temperature at various parts of a device. Because the human body is built for numerous types of movement, from heart beats to locomotion, it excites the boffins. Look at what they have been able to come up with.
THOUGHT-PROPELLED FLYING MACHINE
Professor Bin He from the University of Minnesota and his young team used their thoughts to fly and steer a drone. The researchers found that when we move, or think about a movement, neurons in the brain produce tiny electric currents. Thinking about a different movement activates a new assortment of neurons. They harnessed this electricity via electrodes on a specially made electroencephalogram (EEG) cap.
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POWER FROM THE NOSE
Another source of energy is human breathing. Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have come up with a way to harness breathing to trigger the piezoelectric effect and create microwatts of energy that could one day fuel sensors or other devices implanted in the body.
BLOOD POWER PROJECTS: Inspired by hydro power, engineers at Switzerland's University of Bern are focusing on "turbines" small enough to fit inside a human artery to work like an hydel-power generator. In fact, a prototype tested in a simulated artery produced 800 microwatts of electricity, more than adequate to energise a heart pacemaker.
WALKING DYNAMO
Student engineers from Rice University have gone a little bigger and developed a foot-powered generator called PediPower. It is capable of generating enough power to juice up a phone or another small portable gadget just by ambling along while wearing a shoe attachment. Every time weight is placed on the heel of the shoe, kinetic energy is created and transferred to a belted battery pack. The team hopes it can one day be used for, say, powering an artificial heart.
TOUCH IN ABSENTIA
And what about bridging the touch-feel gap? A wrist device called the Tactilu, created by Poland-based design studio Pangenerator, allows "transfer" of touch between two people anywhere in the world through haptic feedback via an Internet connection.
SLEEPING BAG ENERGISER
Scientists at the University of Southampton helped Vodafone come up with a sleeping bag that can convert body heat into power for small gadgets like smartphones and music players. It uses thermoelectric power generators called Power Pockets to convert some of your body heat into juice for your devices. Apparently, eight hours in the bag will provide enough power for 24 minutes of talk time.
Got any queries?
Are you foxed by your gadget and don't know who to turn to? If you need advice or help regarding cars and bikes, office and home gadgets and electronics of any kind, write to us at gear@bsmail.in