Considering that even solar-powered alternatives still offer AA- and AAA-sized variants, well, it is. Brother Industries has developed a vibration-powered generator that claims to replace the ubiquitous double-A and triple-A batteries. By simply inserting the small generator into, say, a remote control and giving it a good shake, this generates (presumably kinetic) energy for the controller. To ensure that the generator is compatible with current devices running on AA and AAA cells, it’s shaped just like a battery. Inside, though, lie an electromagnetic induction generator and electric double-layer capacitor with a capacitance of about 500mF. According to Brother Industries, its gadget is suited for devices that aren’t always powered on and consume a mere 100mW. A remote sips about 40-100mW.
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There are ideas which sound great in theory but almost pointless in execution. This mug by German design house, Art. Lebedev Studio, is a good example. While an integrated temperature sensor at the side of the mug seems like a good concept, in real life why would anyone need it? Want to know if the coffee is too hot? Touch the sides. Too hot to carry? That is what the handles are for.
krish Battery Battery, mug, temperature, theory
Researchers at the University of Michigan and Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands have created a prosthesis that makes walking much easier on amputees than current options. The trick: An artificial foot that recycles the kinetic energy generated by walking. The device, detailed recently in the journal PLoS One, works by mimicking the natural push-off of a human ankle, using a microprocessor to control the device and capture the energy normally dissipated by the leg: In tests on subjects walking with an artificially impaired ankle, a conventional prosthesis reduced ankle push-off work and increased net metabolic energy expenditure by 23 percent compared to normal walking. Energy recycling restored ankle push-off to normal and reduced the net metabolic energy penalty to 14 percent. That means less cumbersome dragging of an artificial limb and a more natural walking sensation. It also only requires a small battery to operate, running off of less than 1 watt of power.
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