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Fraunhofer scientists developing body heat-powered circuits |
Listed in: Tags: Fraunhofer, gaming accessories, Nintendo
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Imagine playing your favorite Nintendo DS or PSP games for hours on end without ever having to charge your handheld. Instead of having to plug it into a wall socket recharge its batteries, all you have to do is keep it in close contact to your body to keep the thing running indefinitely.
Sounds like something out of a bad sci-fi story? Actually, a collaboration of researchers and scientist from the Fraunhofer Institute for Physical Measurement Techniques (IPM), Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Applied Materials Research (IFAM), and Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits (IIS) in Erlangen are developing circuits which harness a person's natural body heat to generate electricity.
Working on the principle of thermoelectric generators (TEG) made from semiconductor elements, it's able to generate electricity depending on the temperature difference between a hot and a cold environment. Normally, the difference between the human body's heat with that of the environment is too small to power most electrical devices, however advances are being made to make circuits which can work on lower voltage requirements.
Peter Spies, manager at the IIS explains the principle behind this sub-project:
Only low voltages can be produced from differences like these. We combined a number of components in a completely new way to create circuits that can operate on 200 millivolts. This has enabled us to build entire electronic systems that do not require an internal battery, but draw their energy from body heat alone.
Alternately, it may also be possible to generate electricity from anyplace where a difference in temperature occurs. Places such as radiators which monitor the cooling chain during the transport of refrigerated goods, or in air conditioning systems may also find good applications for this type of technology.
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