The problem of batteries for smartphones and wearables could be solved by the researchers of a university in Southern California. They discovered that the batteries can be charged using the heat emitted by the human body, even when it is not in motion, as is the case with piezoelectric technology, which can still be used to charge batteries.
Charging batteries using the heat emitted by the human body is a much better solution than the piezoelectric one because we generate heat all the time, even if in different amounts. Using a series of thermoelectric generators, the researchers managed to take the heat of our bodies to transform it into energy to charge batteries of various types.
Researchers have already created a thermoelectric device that they used to charge batteries using the heat of the human body, it can be worn under any clothing to take the heat. The user does not have to do anything special for the process to work, it being useful even when we sleep, because our bodies emit heat anyway and allow the batteries to be charged.
The problem for now is that no way has been found to generate energy greater than a few microwatts, but with more efficient generators things can change. No one knows when these more efficient generators will be developed, but we can hope that in the future we will be able to charge a smartphone or a smartwatch, using only the energy generated by our body.
"These devices are basically relying on just a few degrees of temperature difference, sometimes just a degree or less, so the devices have to be really efficient when engineered to use a small amount of heat to generate useful power."
