Tiny generator turns vibrations into electricity

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Chuckles McGee @ Jul 6th 2007 11:29AM

Now thumping on your chest really can get that old pacemaker of yours fired up again!

Neutral

What's new here is the size. There has already been lots of work on energy harvesting/scavenging (google this) and as some of you mention it manifestation in consumer products, Seiko kinetic watches and shake-activated flashlights.

The problem with size is that the amount of power harvested is generally proportional to the size. The fact that they were able to couple it to an accel is an accomplishment. The question is efficiency - how efficiently do they convert vibration energy into electrical energy.

Note also that anything that takes away vibration energy is a damping mechanism. This is why energy scavenging in shoes feels like walking on sand -- I'm exaggerating, but you get the point.

Neutral

cow @ Jul 6th 2007 2:32PM

yeah go onix! i wanted to say something like that but u beat me to it. also, what if these were coupled with shock absorbers in cars? on a scale like that, imagine how much energy would be generate.

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