Every day, Anicet Mbida makes us discover an innovation that could well change the way we consume.
This Tuesday, he focuses on a system to recover body energy in order to power the small objects that we wear on a daily basis.
The innovation of the day may be the end of batteries in watches and other connected bracelets.
A new system is able to recover body energy to power electronic devices.
"There will be no more need to recharge them, because it is our own body that will serve as their biological battery. You know that we have an internal temperature of 37 ° C. On the surface, we are still at 33 or 34. degrees. Energy, in general, wasted. Scientists at the University of Boulder in Colorado have therefore found a way to convert it into electricity. Said like that, one thinks of the movie Matrix. When machines used colonies of humans as a powerhouse, except that, we promise, it is simply to avoid constantly recharging our devices.
And we could feed anything with it?
No, because the voltage remains very low.
We only manage to generate about one volt per square centimeter of skin.
Which is not enough.
But on a whole bracelet, we can easily reach five volts, which becomes more than enough for a watch, a sports bracelet or a blood glucose sensor.
We are also considering using the technology on pacemakers, which would prevent those who wear them from going back to the pool table every two or three years to change the battery.
It is rarely a trivial act and it can always lead to complications.
Are there any devices already using this technology?
Not yet that of the University of Boulder, which has the advantage of being able to be integrated on flexible materials such as bracelets.
But there is already a smartwatch that uses a preview version.
You could definitely guess the names of those who make it.
They are called Matrix Industries. "