By Gemma Simpson, 5 July 2007 15:48
NEWS
UK scientists have come up with a tiny generator that can power embedded electronic devices such as pacemakers without the need for batteries or wires.
Scientists from the University of Southampton have developed the device, which is less than one cubic centimetre in size, and produces microwatts of power by using vibrations from the world around it.
The device is initially expected to be used to power wireless sensors that monitor conditions within industrial plants and could form the basis of self-powered pacemakers.
The generator uses environmental vibrations to make magnets on a cantilever at the heart of the device wobble to generate microwatts of power.
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Steve Beeby, advanced research fellow at the University of Southampton, said the big advantage of wireless sensor systems is - by removing wires and batteries - there is the potential for embedding sensors in previously inaccessible locations.
The generator delivers 30 per cent of the power supplied from the environment into useful electrical power.
Beeby added while there has been growing interest in low-power miniature sensors and wireless sensor networks, comparatively little attention has been given to how to supply the required electrical power to such sensors, particularly if the sensor is completely embedded in a structure with no physical connection to the outside world.
US scientists recently demoed a wireless power experiment that lit a 60-watt lightbulb from a power source two metres away and with no physical connections between the source and appliance.
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