Matrix-like wearable device turns the body into a BATTERY by draining a user’s internal heat which is converted into electricity
- A new wearable 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 scale it up to a sports tire size to generate five volts
- This allows users to power portable electronics on the go – no cables required
A new wearable device seems to draw inspiration from the movie ‘The Matrix’ by transforming the human body into a biological battery.
The stretchable device adheres to the skin like a ring on a finger and uses the user’s natural heat to convert the body’s internal temperature into electricity.
While the film shows that robots harvest organic energy from humans, studies at Colorado University (CU) generate only about one volt of energy from every square centimeter of skin space.
The team eventually sees the technology evolve into the size of a sports wristband that can produce about five volts of electricity, so you can power other wearable electronics on the go.
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A new wearable device turns the human body into a biological battery. The stretchable device adheres to the skin like a ring on a finger and uses the user’s natural heat to convert the body’s internal temperature into electricity
Jianliang Xiao, senior author of the new paper and associate professor in the Paul M. Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering at CU Boulder, said, “Anytime you use a battery, that battery drains and will eventually have to be replaced.”
‘The nice thing about our thermoelectric device is that you can wear it and it provides you with constant power.’
Xiao notes that this innovation is not an attempt to merge humans and robots, but is a continuation of previous work of designing wearables with ‘electronic skin’ that look and act like human skin.
During experiments, however, the team had to keep the Android skin connected to an external power source.
Although ‘The Matrix’s depicts robots harvesting organic energy from humans, studies at Colorado University (CU) generate only about one volt of energy from every square inch of skin space.
The new wearable device has a stretchable material made of polyimine at the base, which is equipped with a number of thin thermoelectric devices connected by liquid metal wires.
The finished 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 much stress on the thermoelectric material, which can be very brittle,” said Xiao.
Xiao gives an example of a person jogging to explain how the device works.
The new wearable device has a stretchable material made of polyimine at the base, which features a number of thin thermoelectric wires connected to liquid metal wires
The person is jogging, which in turn warms his body, which is released into the cold air around him.
Xiao’s device captures that energy flow instead of letting it go to waste.
“The thermoelectric generators are in close contact with the human body and they can use the heat that would normally be dissipated into the environment,” he said.
He added that you can easily increase that power by adding more blocks of generators. In this 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 jogging, which in turn warms his body, which is released into the cold air around him. Xiao’s device captures that energy flow instead of letting it go to waste
“What I can do is combine these smaller units to get a bigger unit,” he said. It’s like putting a bunch of little Lego pieces together to make a big structure. It gives you many options for customization. ‘
Ultimately, the team hopes to design the small device into a larger system the size of a traditional sports band, capable of generating up to five volts – more than what a watch battery produces.
“We try to make our devices as cheap and reliable as possible, while also having the least possible impact on the environment,” said Xiao.
While there are still kinks in the design, he thinks his group’s devices could hit the market in five to 10 years. Just don’t tell the robots. We don’t want them to get ideas.