No Plugs, Just Moves: Charge Your Phone With Every Step

Turn your body into a charger: Every step, twist, or stretch you make can generate energy to charge your electronic devices such as phones and laptop.

Imagine charging your phone without a plug—just by moving your body! With innovative technology harnessing the power of motion, each step or gesture generates energy that fuels your device. It's the ultimate way to stay connected while staying active—your body becomes the charger!

A new technology capable of generating electricity from vibrations or even small body movements could allow you to charge your laptop while typing or power your smartphone during a morning run.

Now, Walk and Charge Your Mobile Phone!
Genno, a new power generating device can help charge electronic devices like phones and tablets by harnessing the power of human movement

‘Keep Moving, Keep Charging: Your body becomes the charger! Every move you make generates energy to power your devices. #chargeyourphone #energy #keepmoving #medindia’

The findings of the study are published in the journal Nature Communications ().

Keep Moving, Keep Charging

Researchers at the University of Waterloo have developed a tiny, wearable generator in response to the urgent need for sustainable, clean energy. It is also scalable for larger machines.

“This is a real game changer,” said Dr. Asif Khan, the project’s lead researcher and a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Waterloo. “We have made the first device of its kind that can power electronics at low cost and with unprecedented efficiency."

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Turn Your Moves into Power Using Piezoelectric Effect

The device uses the piezoelectric effect, which generates electrical energy by applying pressure to materials like crystal and certain ceramics. Piezoelectric materials are currently used in various sensing technologies including sonar, ultrasonic imaging and microwave devices.

“Those older materials are brittle, expensive and have a limited ability to generate electricity,” said Dr. Dayan Ban, professor and researcher at the Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology. “The materials we’ve created for the new generator are flexible, more energy-efficient and cost less.”

Now, Body Movements Will Charge Your IPods, Cell Phones
Forget about plugging your iPod or BlackBerry into a power source ever again, for now you can charge these devices just by waving your hand, or stretching your arm, and even by taking a walk.

In addition to Khan and Ban, the research team includes two other Waterloo professors, one professor from the University of Toronto, and their research groups.

The researchers have filed a patent and are working with a Canadian company to commercialize their generator for use in aviation, specifically to power the systems on planes that monitor the status of safety equipment.

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References:

Breaking dielectric dilemma via polymer functionalized perovskite piezocomposite with large current density output - (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-53846-6)

Source-Eurekalert