Matrix-like portable device turns the body into a BATTERY by tapping into the user’s internal heat which is converted into electricity.
- A new portable device turns your body into a biological battery
- The stretchable device sits on the skin and converts body heat into electricity
- It generates one volt of energy from every square inch of skin space
- The team hopes to increase it to a sports tire size to generate five volts
- It allows users to carry portable electronics on the go – without cords
It looks like a new portable device draws inspiration from the movie ‘The Matrix’ by transforming the human body into a biological battery.
The stretchable device is attached to the skin like a ring that attaches to a finger and taps into the user’s natural heat to convert the body’s internal temperature into electricity.
Although the film shows how robots harvest organic energy from humans, research at the University of Colorado (CU) generates only about one volt of energy from every square centimeter of skin space.
The team finally sees the technology evolve to the size of a sports bracelet that can produce about five volts of electricity, enabling you to power other portable electronics along the way.
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A new portable device turns the human body into a biological battery. The stretchable device adheres to the skin like a ring attached to a finger and taps into the user’s natural heat to convert the body’s internal temperature into electricity.
Jianliang Xiao, senior author of the new article and an associate professor at the Paul M. Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering at CU Boulder, said: ‘When you use a battery, you pick up the battery and will eventually have to. replace It. ‘
“The beauty of our thermoelectric device is that you can carry it, and it gives you constant power.”
Xiao notes that this innovation is not an attempt to merge humans with a robot, but that it is an advance in the previous work of designing ‘electronic skin’ portable materials that look like a human skin.
During experiments, however, the team had to connect the Android skin to an external power source.
Although ‘The Matrix’ depicts robots that harvest organic energy from humans, research at the University of Colorado (CU) produces only about one volt of energy from every square inch of skin space.
The new portable device has a stretchy polyimine material at the bottom, which is equipped with a number of thin thin thermoelectrics connected to wires of liquid metals.
“The final product looks like a cross between a plastic bracelet and a miniature computer motherboard or perhaps a technical diamond ring,” the researchers said in a statement.
“Our design makes the whole system stretchable without putting a lot of stress on the thermoelectric material, which can be very brittle,” Xiao said.
Xiao gives an example of a person jogging to explain how the device works.
The new portable device has a stretchable polyimine material at the bottom, which is equipped with a number of thin thin thermoelectrics connected to liquid metal wires.
The person is looking for a jogging step, which in turn heats their body, which is released to the cold air around them.
Xiao’s device captures the stream of energy rather than letting it go to waste.
“The thermal generators are in close contact with the human body and they can use the heat that is normally distributed in the environment,” he said.
He added that you can easily increase the power by adding more blocks of generators. In that sense, he compares his design to a popular children’s toy.
Xiao gives an example of a person jogging to explain how the device works. The person is looking for a jogging step, which in turn warms his body, which is released to the cold air around them. Xiao’s device captures the flow of energy rather than discharging it
“What I can do is combine these smaller units to get a larger unit,” he said. ‘It’s like putting together a bunch of little Lego pieces to make a big structure. It offers you many options to customize. ‘
Eventually, the team hopes to design the small device into a larger system that is about the size of a traditional sports tire, capable of producing up to five volts – more than a watch battery produces.
“We try to make our devices as cheap and reliable as possible, while also having as little impact on the environment as possible,” Xiao said.
Although there are still twists and turns in the design, he thinks his group’s equipment may appear on the market in five to ten years. Just do not tell the robots. We do not want them to get ideas.