Human Powered Devices

From the skin to the circuit

Imagine a system in which small sensors and wireless devices distributed throughout the body can be powered simply by being in contact with the skin without the need for batteries, that is exactly what researchers at Carnegie Melon University have achieved, they have managed to power electronic devices laptops using nothing less than the human body itself.

This technology, called Power Over Skin, allows the body to function as a kind of energy source capable of powering several small battery-free devices distributed along the skin. According to researchers, the technology has already been tested. one end to the other of the human body from head to toe and surprisingly this method generates enough energy to power microcontrollers that can perform tasks such as sensing and wireless communication.

Like The Matrix movie

I know it seems that Matrix was right we are going to be used as batteries by machines, to make this possible scientists modeled the human body as a complete RC circuit, although to make it easier to understand it is basically an electronic circuit that uses resistors and capacitors .

The idea is to take advantage of the body's natural capacity and use high-frequency alternating current waves to conduct the energy necessary to power the devices, that is, the human body itself with its unique electrical characteristics becomes part of the energy conduction system, Despite the individual differences between bodies, the researchers claim that these variations are insignificant when it comes to higher frequencies like the ones they are using.

Improvements on previous methods.

This energy transfer method is considered an improvement on previous intracorporeal energy transfer systems that already sought to power receiving devices without batteries in the human body, with advances in the design of circuits and components, Power over sk skin technology manages to maintain energy in various points of the body opening a range of new possibilities.

In more than a dozen experiments the researchers showed that the power provided is enough to keep wearable devices operating in different parts of the body, these devices can run sensor microprocessors even perform wireless communication all using a small receiver board.

With this work they believe that new applications for this technology will emerge in the coming years and this could mean a Revolution in the way we monitor our health and interact with electronic devices.