[KG] New generator could power wearable tech through body heat

[KakaoDj]

Kitguru article

 

It is not the first thermoelectric generator, but it's a lot smaller than the previous. This could be golden for wearables, and maybe even your cellphone. There will be clothes with these generators intergrated that you can use to charge every device you are carrying, maybe even wirelessly?   Imagine never having to use another plug to charge your tech. This gets me so excited for the future    

 

Edit: as @Misanthrope said, the USB buttplug we are all waiting for may be the best way to utilize body heat for all your electronic needs 

 

Creating a smart watch or arm band with a battery that can last the entire day in such a small form factor is difficult but what if these devices never had to charge and could live off of your body heat? This could become a reality as researchers at KAIST have developed a flexible thermoelectric generator that could easily fit in most wearables and turn your body heat into energy.

 

 

 

[Ivyk]

inb4matrix

[Fred Castellum]

That's really interesting... I'd like to see what they do with this tech.

[Sheldon_King]

That's really interesting... I'd like to see what they do with this tech.

Indeed. Aside from basic things like phones and watches, I could see this being used for medical tech too. No more worrying about the battery dieing on the pump would be a great step forward.

[Lord Pantaloons]

so where's my armored exo-skeleton that runs off my body heat? There are some people's houses I want to destroy and it might be hard without it.

[ZetZet]

so where's my armored exo-skeleton that runs off my body heat? There are some people's houses I want to destroy and it might be hard without it.

You would freeze to death wearing something like that 

[Misanthrope]

You know, given the fact that one of the best ways to take up accurate temperature readings is rectally, Linus dreams of a USB buttplug might finally become reality

[WanderingFool]

Indeed. Aside from basic things like phones and watches, I could see this being used for medical tech too. No more worrying about the battery dieing on the pump would be a great step forward.

I am not sure how effective it will be in terms of medical devices (well for internal devices anyways).  From my understanding all these power generators don't actually just use the heat from your body, but rather the heat differential of your body heat and the outside temperature.  So by implanting a device it's hot side would be very close in temperature to the cold side, which would generate a lot less electricity (the greater the difference the more electricity you can generate).

 

So while I enjoy this technology, I am not sure how far it will ever reach....although if this is scaled and improved perhaps it could be used as a more efficient system than the current steam turbine system.

[Jaybird]

didnt some girl invent a flashlight that was powered by human body heat about 2 years ago. 

[KakaoDj]

You know, given the fact that one of the best ways to take up accurate temperature readings is rectally, Linus dreams of a USB buttplug might finally become reality

 

Oh god, adding that to the OP 

[Sheldon_King]

I am not sure how effective it will be in terms of medical devices (well for internal devices anyways).  From my understanding all these power generators don't actually just use the heat from your body, but rather the heat differential of your body heat and the outside temperature.  So by implanting a device it's hot side would be very close in temperature to the cold side, which would generate a lot less electricity (the greater the difference the more electricity you can generate).

 

So while I enjoy this technology, I am not sure how far it will ever reach....although if this is scaled and improved perhaps it could be used as a more efficient system than the current steam turbine system.

I'll give you that I should have been a little clearer.  

 

Not all medical devices are internal. The statement I made was specifically referring to infusion pumps, which generally are used for Insulin delivery, but can be used for practically any liquid medications that are taken on a consistent basis (non changing values on a daily basis via injection). It would be nice to have a wearable generator powering it instead of a AAA battery, as it would lower the list of possible issues (consumables that are not considered hardware issues) down to the medication, reservoir, and infusion device. 

They way I am looking at it, it would be one step closer to an optimal world for me. Without a battery that dies, and with the advances made in recent years that allow constant monitoring of glucose levels (not constant exactly, but it tests automatically like 4x an hour, so close enough), and automatic correction for lows or highs, the only things left are the infusion mechanism, the Insulin itself, and the battery. Remove the battery via a thermal generator and that just leaves the medicine, and the only way to do away with that would be make the whole thing internal, which won't happen for a while.