Energy Harvesting

New Type of Wireless Charger Can Charge Multiple Devices Simultaneously

While researchers around the globe are working on free-position wireless charging — which would unchain devices from set charging points — the most common...

A 'Charging Room' Powers Devices Through the Air

Prof. Alanson Sample and his team want to turn entire buildings into wireless charging zones. Learn how their system delivers electricity over the air.

Imitating Human Hands to Make Better Sensors

This work could help severely injured people, such as soldiers, regain the ability to control their movements.

New on the Market: September 2021

Power distribution units, pressure sensors, connector straps, and more.

Wearable Sensor Helps ALS Patients Communicate

A skin-like device can measure small facial movements in patients who have lost the ability to speak.

“Flexoelectricity” in Soft Elastomers Could Improve Robot Movement

A connection between electricity and mechanical motion in soft, rubber-like materials could improve robot range.

Reduced Heat Leakage Improves Wearable Health Device

A flexible device worn on the wrist harvests heat energy from the human body to monitor health.

Q&A: Wireless Charging for Electric Vehicles

Dr. Burak Ozpineci is developing a system that charges electric vehicles while driving.

Pyroelectric Sandwich Thermal Energy Harvester

The technology harvests electrical energy from waste heat sources.

Reduced Heat Leakage Improves Wearable Health Device

North Carolina State University engineers continue to improve the efficiency of a flexible device worn on the wrist that harvests heat energy from the human body to monitor health.

Smart Batteries Include Force and Pressure Sensing

Ultra-thin piezoresistive sensors can be used in both R&D and as embedded components to develop safer, longer-lasting lithium-ion battery technologies.

Supercapacitors Go Hybrid for Increased Performance and Efficiency

Learn about the properties of each capacitor option, and their ideal applications.

With 'Ghost'-Like Physics, Optical Rectennas Generate Power from Wasted Heat

Researchers from CU Boulder gave their optical "rectennas" a ghost-like way to turn wasted heat into power.

Q&A: Electricity-Free Cooling

Professor Qiaoqiang Gan of the University at Buffalo (NY) and his team developed a unique two-in-one system that uses solar energy for simultaneously cooling and heating — without electricity.

Turning Carbon Dioxide into Liquid Fuel

A new electrocatalyst efficiently converts carbon dioxide into ethanol.

A 'Wearable Microgrid' Powers Your Devices

You have the power. That's the idea behind a "wearable microgrid" from the University of California San Diego that harvest and stores energy from your body to power electronics.

Luminescent Windows Generate Energy From Inside and Out

Rice University engineers have suggested a colorful solution to next-generation energy collection: Luminescent solar concentrators (LSCs) in your windows. The team designed and...

New Wearable Device Turns the Body Into a Battery

Researchers at CU Boulder have developed a new, low-cost, wearable device that transforms the human body into a biological battery. The device is stretchy enough that you can wear it like...

Stretchable Micro-Supercapacitors Self-Power Wearable Devices

A stretchable system can harvest energy from human breathing and motion.

Side-Mounted Solar Modules Enhance Energy Sustainability

Research demonstrates the potential of a solar unit that can hang on the outside of a structure.

Circuit Generates Clean, Limitless Power from Graphene

The chip could provide low-voltage power for small devices or sensors.

Energy-Harvesting Device Turns Wi-Fi Signals into Usable Power

This device for harnessing terahertz radiation might enable self-powering implants, cellphones, and other portable electronics.

Products of Tomorrow: January 2021

A malaria-test "bandage"; underwater navigation via sound; and a biodegrading, implantable sensor.

Clean, Limitless Power from Graphene

A team of University of Arkansas physicists has successfully developed a circuit capable of capturing graphene’s thermal motion and converting it into an electrical current.

2020 Create the Future Design Contest: Manufacturing/Robotics/Automation Category Winner — RadiBond

RadiBond technology, based on nanometer-thin coatings, provides ultra-strong and ultra-tight bonding between metals and plastics.

2020 Create the Future Design Contest: Sustainable Technologies/Future Energy Category Winner — Flash Graphene

A new process can turn bulk quantities of just about any carbon source into valuable graphene flakes.