Everyone’s
been there. You’re in the middle of an important call and all of a sudden your
cellphone urgently chimes in your ear, alerting you that its battery is about to
kick the bucket. Although battery life has long been the bane of mobile
existence, a new microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology could solve
the ever-present problem of recharging your mobile device.
Measuring in at only 1.8 mm at its widest point, the key to possibly endless energy is a micro-scale windmill so small a single grain of rice could support ten of the tiny devices. Created by research associate Smitha Rao and professor J.-C. Chiao, the Lilliputian windmill was designed by blending origami folding with conventional semi-conductor layout technique. By uniting the two processes, the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) team was able to create complex, self-assembling, 3-dimensional mechanical structures from 2-dimensional metal plates.
Constructed using a nickel-alloy, Rao and Chiao’s windmill has eschewed the main problem facing MEMS machines—their fragility. After successful structural tests of their micro-windmills last September, the UTA team is confident that their choice of material will make their devices strong enough to handle any industry use.
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