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Power Your Laptop by Taking a Walk
Scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have developed a technology that turns human motion into electricity.
In this week's journal Nature Communications, they describe how to power a cell phone or other mobile device - like a laptop computer or GPS system - by simply taking a walk.
They've embedded1 an energy harvester in a shoe.
The harvester consists of two small chambers2 filled with thousands of liquid mini-droplets pushed back and forth3 when you walk. The fluids flow through flexible plastic tubes with embedded electrodes which directly convert the energy into electric power, which is stored in a tiny battery.
There are no wires in this human-powered mobile phone. It connects to a cellular4 transmitter also embedded in the shoe, using low-power wireless5 technology like Bluetooth. That signal is then relayed by the transmitter to the cell tower.
Study co-author and University of Wisconsin engineering professor Tom Krupenkin says such a system dramatically reduces power consumption of the mobile device and allows it to operate for a much longer time.
“That means the cell phone will consume very little energy to do that, literally6 tens of times less.”
The components7 are about the size of a credit card. Krupenkin says the main advantage is the system’s always-ready power. Unlike a traditional battery, the energy harvester never needs to be recharged.
“Once you start walking, a standard harvester - which we plan to be about two watts8 of output power - would start to produce enough power to power your cell phone immediately.”
Krupenkin and colleagues don't expect the device to replace standard batteries, but rather to reduce our dependence9 on costly10 and polluting batteries, especially in portable electronics.
“It helps you because you don’t rely on the battery that much and it also helps because it greatly increases the reliability11 of your power system. You make a system which is potentially always available to you.”
Krupenkin says the technology makes sense for any cell phone or laptop computer user. He also envisions use in remote areas of the world where electrical grids12 for recharging batteries are not available or expensive, or to relieve the burden on soldiers who must now carry their heavy battery-operated electronic gear into the field.
He expects to have a commercial product on the market within two years.
1 embedded | |
a.扎牢的 | |
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2 chambers | |
n.房间( chamber的名词复数 );(议会的)议院;卧室;会议厅 | |
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3 forth | |
adv.向前;向外,往外 | |
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4 cellular | |
adj.移动的;细胞的,由细胞组成的 | |
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5 wireless | |
adj.无线的;n.无线电 | |
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6 literally | |
adv.照字面意义,逐字地;确实 | |
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7 components | |
(机器、设备等的)构成要素,零件,成分; 成分( component的名词复数 ); [物理化学]组分; [数学]分量; (混合物的)组成部分 | |
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8 watts | |
(电力计量单位)瓦,瓦特( watt的名词复数 ) | |
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9 dependence | |
n.依靠,依赖;信任,信赖;隶属 | |
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10 costly | |
adj.昂贵的,价值高的,豪华的 | |
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11 reliability | |
n.可靠性,确实性 | |
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12 grids | |
n.格子( grid的名词复数 );地图上的坐标方格;(输电线路、天然气管道等的)系统网络;(汽车比赛)赛车起跑线 | |
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