By Evan Ackerman
Researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute in Germany have successfully demonstrated a method of using body heat to power electronic circuitry. They’ve combined thermoelectric generators that can extract a tiny voltage from the few degrees of temperature difference between your body and the environment with ultra low-power circuits that can operate (theoretically) at as little as 50 millivolts. This technology is just beyond the concept stage in that the researchers have a working wireless transmitter that operates on 200 millivolts extracted from the heat in your hand. 200 millivolts isn’t going to run anything especially practical (besides this awesome wristwatch), but as with all technologies of this nature, just getting it off the drawing board and incarnated physically is a huge amount of progress. But I’m not worried: I could totally power a supercomputer with my heat, baby. Yeah.
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[ Fraunhofer Research News ] VIA [ Engadget ]