To the world without charging
It's not easy to never charge, especially in the small size of the iFind anti-lost tag. It has been questioned, accused of fraudulent projects, and project sponsors have failed to give tangible evidence that they can make such a product). It’s just a statement to accept Kickstarter’s practice and firmly denies that it’s fraud.
iFind is still a question of fraud, but it reminds us to move on the road to an ideal world without charging, where energy harvesting is a priority. In the foreseeable future, wearable devices will be able to harvest energy through light, heat or vibration. It sounds like science fiction, but wearable devices that collect energy have been around for many years. For example, Seiko in Japan invented an electromagnetic generator that powers its quartz watch through the body movement of the user.
But for today's wearable devices that rely primarily on sensors, computing chips and communication technologies, these relatively simple energy harvesting methods are no longer sufficient. But we still have hope that a series of new technologies have emerged to help achieve energy independence for wearable devices. In terms of energy collection, the following technologies are mainly concerned in the scientific community and the industry:
Solar battery
Solar cells are not just large applications such as power plants and street lights. We will see micro-versions of solar cells that provide enough energy for wearable devices. Solar watches that don't require batteries have been around for many years, and a solar watch recently developed by Energy Bionics not only meets their needs, but also powers other devices.
One of the major problems with using solar cells on wearable devices is that the device needs light to generate electricity. Once the light is blocked, such as under the sleeves, there is no way to generate energy. But from another perspective, this also makes solar cells a good choice for smart clothing, and flexible batteries can even be sewn directly into the fabric.
Traditional solar cells are designed for sunlight because the intensity of sunlight is much higher than that of indoor light sources. In order to solve this problem, some new materials are being developed to generate electricity indoors, and the efficiency is greatly improved.
Thermoelectric collection
Thermoelectric collection is the conversion of thermal energy into electrical energy. The physical principle used is called the Seebeck effect. The Peltier element adds a pair of specific semiconductors that generate current as long as a temperature difference occurs.
For wearable devices, the body that constantly dissipates heat can act as the hot end and the environment becomes the cold end. The amount of energy produced depends on the delta value between the high and low temperatures. Peltier elements can collect a lot of energy and thus have great potential for devices that are close to the skin and have high energy requirements. One of the great advantages of thermoelectric recovery is the constant flow of energy, whether indoors or outdoors, during the day or night.
Earlier, Lei Feng.com reported a patch developed by South Korea to convert thermal energy into electrical energy. Its various features have already met the needs of wearable devices.
Piezoelectric collection
Piezoelectric collection converts mechanical energy into electrical energy. In the piezoelectric element, due to the piezoelectric effect, a small current is generated as long as the element is manipulated by mechanical force. In applications for wearable devices, piezoelectric elements are typically designed to generate electricity by vibrations caused by walking, breathing, or movement of the hand.
Piezoelectric collection produces relatively little energy, which limits its application to devices that consume less power and body parts that are always in motion. The polymer piezoelectric fibers that scientists are developing are flexible and breathable, can be placed in fabrics, and have a wide range of applications.
Optimize the storage and consumption of power for your wearables
Energy collection is only one aspect of the wearable device. Energy storage is another aspect that has a lot of room for improvement. Supercapacitors and graphene have great potential in this regard. The magical material graphene can greatly improve the efficiency of batteries and capacitors, thereby improving the overall performance of wearable devices. The structural capacitors turn the wearable components into energy storage, eliminating the need for additional space for the battery.
Another way to increase the life of a wearable device or not to charge it at all is to dramatically reduce the energy consumption of sensors, chips and communication systems. The success of smartphones has driven the development of low-energy, high-performance chips. Processors for wearable devices require less computing power and energy. In response to this problem, chip makers, including Intel, are reducing common energy losses by integrating processors, memory and communication modules into a single chip.
Choosing the most efficient networking technology can also help reduce energy consumption. Looking ahead, more and more sensors and devices are worn in different parts of the body, making the efficient communication method called “Body Area Network†a huge potential for energy savings. Companies such as EnOcean have developed optimized protocols that use data telegrams that are shorter than IPv6, resulting in significantly less energy being consumed for the same amount of information.
All of these different improvements are driving wearables into an era of no-charge, while dramatically improving performance. Coupled with technologies such as wireless charging, consumers may soon see a significant increase in the wearable device user experience, which will further push wearables into the wider market.
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