scientists develop micro-windmills to recharge cell
phones
image courtesy UT arlington
research associate smitha rao, and J.C. chiao, an electrical engineering professor at the university of texas arlington have designed a micro-windmill capable of generating enough wind energy to recharge cell phone batteries. the device measures about 1.8 mm at its widest point – a single grain of rice could hold about 10 of the minuscule machines. energy created by waving a cell phone in the air or holding it up to an open window on a windy day generates the electricity that is collected by the battery – hundreds of the windmills could potentially be embedded in a sleeve for a smartphone.
‘by blending origami concepts into conventional wafer-scale semiconductor device layouts, the design allows for complex 3D moveable mechanical structures to be self-assembled from two-dimensional metal pieces utilizing planar multilayer electroplating techniques,’ explain rao and chiao.
video courtesy winMEMS technologies
the new technology could be applied in the future to build micro-robots that can be used as surgical tools, sensing machines to explore disaster zones or manufacturing tools to assemble micro-machines. because of its small size, flat panels with thousands of windmills can be essentially produced and mounted on the walls of houses or buildings to harvest energy for lighting, security or environmental sensing and wireless communication.
image courtesy winMEMS technologies
scientists develop micro-windmills to recharge smartphones
TECHNOLOGY
galaxy note 3 wireless charging S-view flip cover
TECHNOLOGY
TOP 10 smartphones from 2013
TECHNOLOGY
scientists develop micro-windmills to recharge smartphones
TECHNOLOGY
street lights powered by solar and wind energy are an »
DESIGN
francois xavier saint georges draws on streets of montreal
ART
Some misleading stuff here. First, they say “micro-windmill capable of generating enough wind energy to recharge cell phone batteries” but don’t mention that there is actually no generator to make the electric energy. Second, they say they’ve got “…mechanical structures to be self-assembled from two-dimensional metal pieces…” It doesn’t look like self assembly. Rather, it’s just assembly.