Engineering researchers at Michigan State University had found a way to harness human energy with a nanotechnology breakthrough. Read on to find out more about it.
By using a film-like device called nanogenerator, scientists were able to operate an LCD touch screen and a flexible keyboard simply with touching or pressing motion without the aid of a battery.
The nanogenerator can actually be folded to create more power and is relatively low cost. The completed device is called biocompatible ferroelectet nanogenerator or FENG.
Lead investigator of the project, Nelson Sepulveda, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, stated that we are closer to an age where we wear devices powered solely through human motions.
Nelson Sepulveda went on to say that soon we will have the capability of not charging our cell phones for an entire week with nanotechnology breakthrough, which will be powered by our movement.
The device is made up of environmental-friendly materials such as silver, polymide and polypropylene ferroelectret ions that are embedded in thin sheets of silicone wafer. Human motion creates electrical energy when the device is compressed as published in the report by MSU Today.
With the material generating more electrical energy as it is folded, there are more options in which to harness energy with human motion. For example when the device is folded several times, it can be inserted into the heels of specially made shoes thus generating more electricity as you walk.
The advantages of FENG being lightweight, scalable, robust and relatively low cost makes FENG a promising contender in the field of mechanical energy harvesting as was reported in an article by ScienceDaily.
With further development, FENG could become a must have technology and a good solution for our penchant for energy consumption with our use of mobile devices and other gadgets.
