GeneralKnee Brace Power Generator may soon Charge Cell Phones

Knee Brace Power Generator may soon Charge Cell Phones

Knee Brace Power Generator

Everyone has been through a day when their mobile phone’s battery has died, because of the absence of a charger. But, soon, up may just need to take a brisk walk to revive the charge of a dead battery in a cell phone. Researchers have developed a new device that will allow people to generate electricity while walking.

Engineers from three universities in Canada and the US have successfully developed a biomedical energy harvester which is required to be worn on the knees that turns the mechanical energy of human muscles into electricity.

For the experiments, volunteers who walked with one prototype device on each knee generated around 5 watts of electricity. This is sufficient to power up as many as 10 typical mobile phones at the same time.

According to Art Kuo, an associate professor of mechanical engineers at the University of Michigan, “We’ve demonstrated proof of concept.”

The knee brace weighs around 1.6 kgs. In simple words, the device harvests energy when a person brakes the knee after swinging the leg forward to take a step.

Kuo also said that the knee could be the best place in the human body to harvest energy.

“We believe that when you’re slowing down the knee at the end of swinging the leg, most of that energy is just wasted,” explained Kuo.

“The prototype device is heavy and bulky. But the energy generation part has very little effect on the wearer, whether it is turned on or not. We hope to improve it so that it is easier to carry,” Kuo said.

Other than its application in mobile phones, the new energy harvester could also help extend battery life of insulin pumps, lighten equipment for mountain trekkers, or even help prosthetic limbs in disabled and handicaps people.

The harvester is designed as a kneebrace with a small motor that serves as the generator and associated equipment. However, the researchers said future versions of the device would need to be constructed out of light-weight materials such as carbon fiber.

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