Fedupwithconstantlyhavingtorechargeorreplacebatteriesinyourever-expandingelectronicdevices?Thesolutionmaybejustafewstepsaway.
“Energyharvesting”promisestopowercountlessconsumerdevicesoftenwithnothingmorethanyourbody’smovementorheat.DozensofcompaniesaroundtheworldalreadyoffersuchproductsbutmanyexpertsbelievethemarketforthetechnologycouldexplodeduetoelectronicdevicesbeingdevelopedfortheInternetofThings.
“It’shuge,”saidGrahamMartinCEOoftheEnOceanAllianceaSanRamon-basedgroupofbusinessesthatpromoteswirelessenergy-harvestingtechnologies.WiththeInternetofThingsexpectedtocombinebillionsofdevices“iftheyareallbattery-poweredwe’llhaveaproblembecausethere’snotenoughlithium(锂)intheworld,”headded.“Soalotofthemwillhavetouseenergyharvesting.”
Amongthemostbasicformsofthetechnologyisbodypower.Whencertainmaterialsaresqueezedorstretchedthemovementoftheiratomscreatesanelectricalcharge.Automaticwatcheshaveemployedtheconceptfordecadesforexamplebywindingthemselveswhentheirusermovestheirarm.Nowtheconceptisbeingconsideredforanumberofotherdevices.
InacontestseekingvisionaryideasforwearabletechnologiesIntelawarded$5000foraconcepttochangethetemperaturedifferencebetweenaperson’sbodyandaspecialpieceofclothingthey’dwearintoelectricityformobiledevices.
Usingsoundtopowerdevicesisanotherenergy-harvestingvariation.StanfordUniversityengineersaretestingsmartmicrochipsthatcreateelectricityfromultrasoundtopowerimplantabledevicesthatcananalyzeaperson’snervoussystemortreattheirdiseases.
AtextileresearchassociationinSpainisproposingtoobtainelectricityfromradiowavesthatflowaroundeveryonetopowersensorssewnintoclotheswhichcanmonitoraperson'sheartbeatorothervitalsigns. ResearchfirmlDTechExhasestimatedthatannualglobalsalesofenergy-harvestingproductscouldhit$2.6billionby2024whileWinterGreenResearchpredictssalesof$4.2billionby2019.
Obtainingstableenergyfromdevicescanbecomplexhowever.Foronethingthemotionthatgeneratestheelectricityhastobeconstantto