#NANOTECH: "Nanogenerators to Enable Battery-Free Handhelds"

Forget super-sizing. Nano-sizing is the future of energy harvesters, according to researchers who claim to have mathematical proof that battery-free electronic devices can be powered by mechanical energy from vehicle vibrations to body movements. Look for battery-free mobile devices by the end of the decade. R. Colin Johnson @NextGenLog


Northwestern University researchers fabricated a micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) to test their piezoelectric nanowires. (Source: Northwestern University)

Here is what my Smarter Technology story says about battery-free mobile devices: Energy harvesting today is confined to a few niche applications, such as powering wireless sensor networks in remote areas where it is too expensive to send out crews to constantly be replacing batteries. However, by nano-sizing the working element in these energy harvesters, Northwestern University researchers claim their efficiency can be improved enough to enable battery-free mobile electronics.
Full Text: http://bit.ly/NextGenLog-fNF9