This Band-Aid-inspired wearable finger strip generates energy from your sweat, even when you’re asleep!





Our bodies are an abundant source of energy to power new-age wearables; the only question is to figure out how to do it most practically. This thin Band-Aid-like energy harvester developed by the team of engineers at the University of California, San Diego, could be the answer to powering our gadgets in the future. Of course, there are other similar prototype wearables we’ve seen in the past, including some by the UC San Diego team itself, but this one is different.

The thin, flexible strip worn on the finger can generate energy when you are sleeping or simply doing nothing since the sweat from your body powers it. As the fingertips produce exponentially more sweat than any other body part, they are virtually an abundant source to put to good use. The strip has carbon foam electrodes that absorb the sweat, and a chemical reaction is initiated between the lactate and oxygen molecules. The result is electricity generation that’s stored in capacitors to power our modern power-hungry wearables. According to co-first author Lu Yin, “This work is a step forward to making wearables more practical, convenient and accessible for the everyday person.”

The strip comes equipped with piezoelectric material to generate energy in response to pressure. Activities like typing, exercising, driving your car, or opening the refrigerator also result in energy production. During the testing phase, the team tested to strip during 10 hours of sleep on a subject, and it produced 400 millijoules of energy. This is ample energy to power an electronic watch for 24 hours. Another experiment by the team tested the energy generated with casual typing and clicking with a mouse, resulting in 30 millijoules of energy. Yin emphasized the fact that “when you are sleeping, you are putting in no work. Even with a single finger press, you are only investing about half a millijoule.”

The team is working on improving the device to make it practical, efficient, and durable for everyday use. To this end, Yin added by saying that, “We want to show that this is not just another cool thing that can generate a small amount of energy and then that’s it – we can actually use the energy to power useful electronics such as sensors and displays.”

Designer: University of California, San Diego

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Researchers create algorithms that help lithium-ion batteries charge two times faster

Researchers create algorithms that help lithium-ion batteries charge two times faster

Researchers at the University of California San Diego have devised new algorithms that can cut lithium-ion battery charge times in half, help cells run more efficiently and potentially cut production costs by 25 percent. Rather than tracking battery behavior and health with the traditional technique of monitoring current and voltage, the team's mathematical models estimate where lithium ions are within cells for more precise data. With the added insight, the team can more accurately gauge battery longevity and control charging efficiency. The group was awarded $460,000 from the Department of Energy's ARPA-E research arm to further develop the algorithm and accompanying tech with automotive firm Bosch and battery manufacturer Cobasys, which both received the remainder of a $9.6 million grant. Wondering if the solution will ever find its way out of the lab? According to co-lead researcher Scott Moura, it'll see practical use: "This technology is going into products that people will actually use."

Continue reading Researchers create algorithms that help lithium-ion batteries charge two times faster

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Researchers create algorithms that help lithium-ion batteries charge two times faster originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Oct 2012 23:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Alt-week 8.25.12: robotic noses, Nodosaurs and Space X launches again

Alt-week peels back the covers on some of the more curious sci-tech stories from the last seven days.

Alt-week 8.25.12: robotic noses, Nodosaurs and Space X launches again and

All good things come to an end, they say. Thankfully, most bad things do, too. So while the rest of the world of tech is dealing with the fallout, and possible implications of patent law, over here in the wild party that is Alt, we're fist pumping at all the awesome weekly sci-tech fodder. For example, we've got a robo-nose that can sniff out nasties in the air, a 110-million-year-old footprint found in NASA's back yard, and not one, but two space stories to reflect on. There's a hidden joke in there too, come back once you've read through to find it. This is alt-week.

Continue reading Alt-week 8.25.12: robotic noses, Nodosaurs and Space X launches again

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Alt-week 8.25.12: robotic noses, Nodosaurs and Space X launches again originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 25 Aug 2012 18:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Alt-week 8.25.12: robotic noses, Nodosaurs and Space X launches again

Alt-week peels back the covers on some of the more curious sci-tech stories from the last seven days.

Alt-week 8.25.12: robotic noses, Nodosaurs and Space X launches again and

All good things come to and end, they say. Thankfully, most bad things do, too. So while the rest of the world of tech is dealing with the fallout, and possible implications of patent law, over here in the wild party that is Alt, we're fist pumping at all the awesome weekly sci-tech fodder. For example, we've got a robo-nose that can sniff out nasties in the air, a 110-million-year-old footprint found in NASA's back yard, and not one, but two space stories to reflect on. There's a hidden joke in there too, come back once you've read through to find it. This is alt-week.

Continue reading Alt-week 8.25.12: robotic noses, Nodosaurs and Space X launches again

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Alt-week 8.25.12: robotic noses, Nodosaurs and Space X launches again originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 25 Aug 2012 18:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Researchers make unsuitable parts work as solar cells, could lead to cheaper panels

Researchers make unsuitable parts work as solar cells, could lead to cheaper panels

Harnessing the power of the sun is a tricky business, but even the past few weeks have seen some interesting developments in the field. In this latest installment, researchers from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the University of California have figured out a way of making solar cells from any semiconductor, potentially reducing the cost of their production. You see, efficient solar cells require semiconductors to be chemically modified for the current they produce to flow in one direction. The process uses expensive materials and only works with a few types of semiconductors, but the team's looking at using ones which aren't normally suitable -- the magic is to apply an electrical field to them. This field requires energy, but what's consumed is said to be a tiny fraction of what the cell's capable of producing when active, and it means chemical modification isn't needed.

The concept of using a field to standardize the flow of juice isn't a new one, but the team's work on the geometrical structure of the cells has made it a reality, with a couple of working prototypes to satisfy the skeptics. More of these are on the way, as their focus has shifted to which semiconductors can offer the best efficiency at the lowest cost. And when the researchers have answered that question, there's nothing left to do but get cracking on commercial production. For the full scientific explanation, hit up the links below.

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Researchers make unsuitable parts work as solar cells, could lead to cheaper panels originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 11 Aug 2012 11:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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University of California, Riverside runs entire building floor off of 1.1-megawatt green battery

University of California, Riverside runs entire building floor off of 1.1-megawatt green battery

We're used to batteries powering a lot of devices, but the University of California, Riverside is upping that a notch by charging up a whole floor's worth. The school's Winston Chung Global Energy Center is walking the eco-friendly walk and has started using a huge bank of rare earth, lithium-ion batteries from Balqon to produce 1.1 megawatts, enough to keep Winston Chung Hall's entire first floor humming along while tapping renewable energy sources like solar and wind power. The batteries bank their energy overnight, keeping the throngs of students happy without having to recharge as much or use the regular power grid as a fallback. While it's considered a testbed, the university's giant battery is considered a blueprint for cellular towers and the green power sources themselves -- the combination of which could keep your smartphone up and running with a lot less of an environmental hit.

[Thanks, Justin B]

University of California, Riverside runs entire building floor off of 1.1-megawatt green battery originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 11 May 2012 21:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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