Smartphone cameras, processors and designs get better each and every year, but battery life is still a long way from where we’d like it to be.
Instead of having to settle for nightly charges, however, new technology means we could all power our phones for a week, just by using it.
How could this be possible? According to scientists, it’s all down to new nanogenerators which have been used to produce power from users swiping devices’ panels.
Sounds too good to be true, right? Well, it is and it isn’t.
Although researchers at Michigan State University have managed to harvest energy from human motion, the technology is still in the very early stages of development and has to date only been used to power rudimentary devices.
The scientists have successfully powered an LCD touchscreen comprising of 20 LED lights and a flexible keyboard without a battery, instead harvesting energy from users’ pressing and swiping motions.
Explaining the possibilities of the new nanogenerators, Nelson Sepulveda, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at MSU, and the project’s lead investigator stated: “We’re on the path toward wearable devices powered by human motion.”
He added: “What I foresee, relatively soon, is the capability of not having to charge your cell phone for an entire week, for example, because that energy will be produced by your movement.”
It’s not just your fingers that will be doing the smartphone-powering work, either.
According to Sepulveda, the technology “may be small enough to put in a specially made heel of your shoe so it creates power each time your heel strikes the ground.”
It’s currently unclear just how many years we are from that dream of week-long smartphone batteries.
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Is a week-long battery your ultimate smartphone feature? Let us know in the comments.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
