http://www.news.wisc.edu/19661Human gait could soon power portable electronics
Aug. 23, 2011
by Terry Devitt
If the vision of Tom Krupenkin and J. Ashley Taylor comes to fruition, one day soon your cellphone — or just about any other portable electronic device — could be powered by simply taking a walk.
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In their Nature Communications report, Krupenkin and Taylor describe a novel energy-harvesting technology known as "reverse electrowetting," a phenomenon discovered by the Wisconsin researchers. The mechanical energy is converted to electrical energy by using a micro-fluidic device consisting of thousands of liquid micro-droplets interacting with a novel nano-structured substrate.
This technology could enable a novel footwear-embedded energy harvester that captures energy produced by humans during walking, which is normally lost as heat, and converts it into up to 20 watts of electrical power that can be used to power mobile electronic devices. Unlike a traditional battery, the energy harvester never needs to be recharged, as the new energy is constantly generated during the normal walking process.
The initial development of this technology was funded by a National Science Foundation Small Business Innovation Research grant. Now Krupenkin and Taylor are seeking to commercialize the technology through a company they've established, InStep NanoPower.
…http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ncomms1454