Humans As Batteries: Future Smart Devices Could Use Our Bodies As Power Source

Smart devices could soon tap their users as power sources by converting mechanical energy into electrical energy. Scottish researchers may have figured out how to tap body movements and reduce home energy bills.

Batteries of the Future

Mechanical energy is one of the most abundant sources of energy in nature, and the daily actions of humans can generate a small amount of electrical power. However, most of our mechanical energy is wasted in the environment, waiting to be converted into more valuable forms.

New technology is being developed where super thin matting placed on floors can capture the energy of each step. The energy collected from walking around the house can be stored to power household items. However, it has become a challenge to make this possible using triboelectric nanogenerators (TENG) on a commercially viable scale due to limited energy output, low durability, and inefficiency.

A Stirling-based tech company called Integrated Graphene claims to have developed a graphene-based product that can help solve this problem. The firm has developed an innovative 3D graphene foam called Gii which offers potential as an active layer in a TENG.

Experts from the University of the West of Scotland's Institute of Thin Films, Sensors and Imaging (ITFSI) conducted a study focusing on the potential of 3D graphene foam as a power source for autonomous sensors. The research team aims to transform the mechanical energy of humans wasted in nature into a more helpful form of electrical energy.

The result of the study reveals that the force of a human footprint exerted on a pressure-sensitive mat containing Gii-TENG sensors can generate enough energy to identify people who enter or leaves the room. This can be used as a low-cost, energy-efficient approach to monitor occupancy.

In addition, the mats can also help optimize energy resources like controlling room temperature upon a person's entrance or exit. The researchers believe this can be useful in schools and universities that need to connect room occupancy to a ventilating system and CO2 monitoring.

The Potential of Graphene in Energy Storage

Graphene is an allotrope of carbon composed of a single layer of atoms tightly bound in a hexagonal lattice. It is extracted from graphite, the crystalline form of elemental carbon.

Graphene is best known for its outstanding properties, such as high thermal and electrical conductivity, high elasticity and flexibility, and low energy consumption. It is also hard, highly resistant, and transparent. With these properties, graphene has found many applications in various industries.

In the energy sector, graphene stands out among other materials that make capacitors and supercapacitors. This is because graphene has high stability and surface area, allowing it to accumulate and store charge.

Graphene supercapacitors can store huge amounts of energy with the ability to charge and discharge rapidly. Meanwhile, adding graphene to battery electrodes helps improve energy capacity, lifetime, and reliability. Furthermore, graphene can also increase the lifespan of a traditional lithium-ion battery allowing electronic devices to be charged quicker with longer power.