When Flo Rida sang “you put your lips together” I am not sure they were referring to this new innovative technology but it seems like they had the right idea. Its all about wind
Researches at the University of Texas Arlington have built a windmill that can charge your cell phone’s battery. Whilst turning wind energy into electrical energy is not new, what is innovative is the size of the windmill. Researches and engineers have built a windmill that is so small that 10 windmills could fit on a single grain of rice!
On a typical iPhone cover, thousands of these windmills which are 1.8mm in diameter could be placed which could spin fast enough to generate enough electricity to power the phone. These windmills are made from a flexible nickel alloy which is strong enough to withstand the intensive demand on the windmill without breaking.
An agreement has been established for University to hold the intellectual properties while WinMEMS , a Taiwanese fabrication company , explores the commercialization opportunities. Whilst there is no set date as to when this tech will be available, there are discussions with various partners to make this a reality.
So in the future, when you see someone blowing on their phone or leaving their phone by a window or waving their phone in the air, they are simply recharging their batteries.