Just recently, some researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder, America, created a wearable device that harvests the wearer’s body heat and converts it into energy effectively turning the wearer into a battery.
The research published in the Journal Science explains that people could actually power simple electronics like smartwatch, fitness tracker, etc., by wearing a ring or bracelet that contains thermoelectric chips which convert heat into electrical energy.
According to Jianliang Xiao, an associate professor who took part in the experiment, “We hope this technology could, at least partially, solve the pollution problems of electronic waste”. Right now the device only generates about 1 volt of energy per cm2 of skin (which means, the more the skin area the more power is generated). However, in five to ten years time, the researchers hope to find ways to increase the amount of power produced since they have a goal of having the gadgets on sale to the public.
Though in 2014, three scientists carried out a similar experiment with thermoelectric wearable generators (on glass fabric), this particular device has different features. For example, it is stretchy, has the ability to reconfigure and change itself, and is also fully recyclable. So it can help eliminate the problem of dead batteries lying around poisoning the earth. You won’t need to replace it because since it’s feeding on body heat it won’t ever be depleted.
Though many attributes this to be a technological advancement but that it sounds a little terrifying following Xiao’s statement that robots are not to find out about this. According to him, “We don’t want them getting any ideas.” Of course, he was referring to the movie “The Matrix” where humans are turned into batteries that power machines that have taken over the world. The funny thing about that is, the machines aren’t building the technology to make that happen, but humans.
