How University of Waterloo researchers could help charge your devices by moving your body

Imagine being able to charge your devices through your body’s movements.

University of Waterloo (UW) researchers say they’re getting closer to that being a reality.

“We are using this device to convert our finger motion or force,” said Asif Khan, a postdoctoral fellow who has help developed this, as he demonstrated it to CTV News.

It generates electricity through vibrations using the piezoelectric effect, where materials like the mineral perovskite and ceramics, can generate a charge in response to applied mechanical pressure.

“It will jump quickly. You can see it going up, this is the stored energy,” said Khan, showing a screen that tracks the energy.

By harnessing energy through movement, it means a laptop could by charged by typing, a smartphone could be powered through running or walking and regular movements of hands could charge a watch as you wear it.

“We see many small electronics that need to be powered by using up new batteries or by running wires, which is not convenient,” said Dayan Ban, a professor at the Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology.

While there may be companies out there working on similar technology, these researchers say this tiny collection of materials stands out from the rest.

“Our device is made of nanomaterials that can be lightweight, really flexible,” said Ban.

Plus, it’s cost efficient.

“The whole thing can be very thin, probably less than one millimetre,” Ban said.

That makes it easier to put inside a smartphone or watch so the consumer wouldn’t notice a difference. At that size it costs under a dollar to make. It is apparently quite efficient too.

“The output is 10 times higher that than the commercial ones that are available in the markets,” said Majid Hajibagheri, a PhD student working on the device.

This is just the beginning. The team hopes to scale up and is motivated by a strong need for sustainable energy. They envision one day using the constant motion of the ocean or an airplane to create even more power.

“We can use these technologies and integrate with the existing parts to monitor the structure health of the mechanical parts of the aircraft,” said Ban.

The goal is to get this idea on the smaller scale to shelves within the next few years.

So it may not be long before you can charge up just by doing your daily activities.