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Power Hardware

Tiny Generator Runs Off Vibrations 182

Posted by kdawson from the shaken-not-stirred dept.
Warbothong writes "Researchers at Southampton University in the UK have developed a tiny generator that uses local vibrations to output microwatts of power. The device is smaller than one cubic centimeter. It shows promise as an alternative to batteries for applications where frequent battery replacement would not be feasible. The devices are currently being used in industry where 'there is the potential for embedding sensors in previously inaccessible locations,' but its creators imagine it could be used in devices such as pacemakers, where the beating of the heart would produce ample movement to power the magnetic mechanism."
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Tiny Generator Runs Off Vibrations More

Tiny Generator Runs Off Vibrations

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  • Old tech (Score:3, Insightful)

    by mulvane ( 692631 ) on Thursday July 05, 2007 @12:04PM (#19755033)
    Wrist watches have had this for years now. I think it was casio who first started doing it wide scale.

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by TheMeuge ( 645043 )
      I think for the watches, the amplitude of the "vibration" needs to be much higher in order to swing the arm. I doubt tiny little vibrations would do it, so for an application such as pacemaker, such a technology wouldn't do.

      But yes, this looks extremely promising. Couple this with a nice, but small capacitor, with a capacity for 2-3 shocks (probably 5-15mA per discharge will be sufficient), and you've got a nice little pacemaker that recharges itself.

      • Re:Old tech (Score:5, Interesting)

        by AKAImBatman ( 238306 ) * <akaimbatman AT gmail DOT com> on Thursday July 05, 2007 @12:29PM (#19755387) Homepage Journal

        Couple this with a nice, but small capacitor, with a capacity for 2-3 shocks (probably 5-15mA per discharge will be sufficient), and you've got a nice little pacemaker that recharges itself.

        Amusingly, self-charging pacemakers have existed for the better part of 40 years. Pacemakers used to be powered by radioisotopes which had a power-producing lifespan far in excess of the patient's remaining expected lifespan. The only catch with such pacemakers was that they had to be removed after death to recover the valuable Pu-238 materials for remanufacturing and reuse.

        According to this article [comcast.net] by a Dr. David Prutchi PhD, the devices fell out of favor due to the availability of lithium batteries capable of lasting a decade before replacement. However, one does have to wonder if the public fear of all things nuclear didn't contribute to the downfall of such devices.

        • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

          by Vellmont ( 569020 )

          However, one does have to wonder if the public fear of all things nuclear didn't contribute to the downfall of such devices.
          I doubt it. People were afraid of all things nuclear in the 70s and 80s as well. I also think knowledge of the nuclear battery in pacemakers wasn't very widespread (I never knew about it, and while not a medical expert I'm fairly well informed).

          My guess is it's much like the article says. A 10 year lifespan is long enough to consider replacing the unit with better technology. I bet

          • Re:Old tech (Score:5, Funny)

            by geekoid ( 135745 ) <dadinportlandNO@SPAMyahoo.com> on Thursday July 05, 2007 @12:56PM (#19755739) Homepage Journal
            Also, sometime they would leak and create 40 foot people that would rampage around the desert; which is a good thing, because someone had to stamp on those giant ants.

            • Re: (Score:2)

              by Loligo ( 12021 )

              So Michael Jackson doesn't need to pay for the big robot to roam around outside Vegas, he just needs a leaky pacemaker?

              Won't address the lasers, but maybe if he can get a pedal powered propellor hat with LEDs on it...

                -l
          • Just as long as the lithium batteries aren't made by Sony, with extraneous metal particles, and prone to catastrophic thermal runaway failure. As in "Dear, what's smoking?" "Bob, Honey, I think it's YOU! And your chest is glowing!" "Arrrrgggghhhhh!" (plop)

            On the other hand, this how IronMan got started.

          • "I doubt it. People were afraid of all things nuclear in the 70s and 80s as well."

            Only those without direct access to kitchen tables.
        • I wouldn't call atomic batteries "self-charging."

        • Couple this with a nice, but small capacitor, with a capacity for 2-3 shocks (probably 5-15mA per discharge will be sufficient), and you've got a nice little pacemaker that recharges itself.

          Amusingly, self-charging pacemakers have existed for the better part of 40 years. Pacemakers used to be powered by radioisotopes which had a power-producing lifespan far in excess of the patient's remaining expected lifespan. The only catch with such pacemakers was that they had to be removed after death to recover the valuable Pu-238 materials for remanufacturing and reuse.

          Rare fuels that provide power for decades are NOT self-charging mechanisms. They're burning up fuel, big difference.

    • Wrist watches have had this for years now. I think it was casio who first started doing it wide scale.
      Actually I think it was Seiko. I distinctly remember being told about "psycho-kinetic" watches and thinking they'd found a way to convert brainwave into kinetic energy to move the hands of the watch. Even though the actual tech was still pretty cool I couldn't help but feel disappointed when somebody explained what they really did. Stupid pronunciations...

      • Re:Old tech (Score:5, Informative)

        by red_dragon ( 1761 ) on Thursday July 05, 2007 @12:59PM (#19755789) Homepage

        I distinctly remember being told about "psycho-kinetic" watches...

        What you actually heard was the phrase "Seiko Kinetic"; their advertisements clearly showed the mechanical parts of the charging mechanism, and made no reference to "psycho" power, whatever that might be. There's more info on it on Seiko's website [seikousa.com].

    • Re:Old tech (Score:4, Interesting)

      by steveo777 ( 183629 ) on Thursday July 05, 2007 @12:43PM (#19755573) Homepage Journal
      Not sure who developed it first, but I do remember being somewhat enamored with Seiko's Kinetic watches. They had a off-center flywheel attached to a generator and gearbox that powered a small capacitor. Apparently the watch would run for 2 weeks on a full charge and all you had to do was walk around with it for a few hours. But that was a few years ago.

      • Not sure who developed it first, but I do remember being somewhat enamored with Seiko's Kinetic watches. They had a off-center flywheel attached to a generator and gearbox that powered a small capacitor. Apparently the watch would run for 2 weeks on a full charge and all you had to do was walk around with it for a few hours. But that was a few years ago.

        I've got one. It's got a battery and a flywheel; the battery stops it from losing time for up to a month of leaving it stationary. One of the most elegant pieces of engineering I own.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by misleb ( 129952 )
      Not just old tech, but an old dupe. I'm too lazy to search for it, but I'm certain I read about this same device last year on Slashdot.

      -matthew

    • Seiko (Score:2)

      by phorm ( 591458 )
      I've got one on right now. It's an old Seiko, which used to be my grandfather's. If I wear it for the day, then usually it manages to have enough juice/wind to sit on my nightstand when I hit the sack and yet still be keeping correct time in the morning. If I sleep in it usually runs out of juice and stops.

      I'm not sure if it runs on an electric (charging a capacitor) or mechanical (winding a spring) principal though, and as curious as I have been I wouldn't want to pull it apart to find out.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by necro81 ( 917438 )
      My watch, a Citizen Eco-Drive [citizenwatch.com], has a small solar cell array under the translucent face. When fully charged, it will keep running in the dark for several months at least. It receives enough light during my normal day (even when hiding under the cuffs of my shirt) such that it's never run out of power.
    • I was thinking about that but also was wondering why they bothered with the magnets instead of using the piezo effect. Crystals can be much smaller, and I think more effective at that size, than magnets.
    • This (in the article) is almost exactly the same device as is present in EZpass tags (the tags you put in your windshield to drive through toll lanes). They use the vibration of the car to jiggle a magnet through a coil, generating electricity which powers a radio transmitter. This one claims to generate "microwatts", but I'd think you'd at least need a few mW to power a transmitter that could reach the base station at the toll lane.

  • woo (Score:5, Funny)

    by WormholeFiend ( 674934 ) on Thursday July 05, 2007 @12:06PM (#19755065)
    sounds like real free energy, at last!

    suck it, Orbo!

  • Vibrations (Score:4, Funny)

    by Mockylock ( 1087585 ) on Thursday July 05, 2007 @12:07PM (#19755073) Homepage
    They'll soon have vibrators that are self-powered. Handheld pocket pieces around the globe. This would definitely outsell the solar powered vibrator idea, for those who just can't be away from masturbation when stuck without batteries.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by joebok ( 457904 )
      If it weren't for that pesky 2nd law of thermodynamics, we could have perpetual orgasmatrons!
  • Wondering how efficient would it had been to use a piezoelectric generator (like the kind converting vibrations of a record in a record player into electricity)

  • Erm.. (Score:5, Funny)

    by Rob T Firefly ( 844560 ) on Thursday July 05, 2007 @12:09PM (#19755105) Homepage Journal

    but its creators imagine it could be used in devices such as pacemakers, where the beating of the heart would produce ample movement to power the magnetic mechanism.
    Ladies and gentlemen, presenting the heart-powered pacemaker! From the same geniuses that brought you solar-powered flashlights, pedal-powered crutches, and a voice-controlled version of Stephen Hawking's talk box.
    • It is my understanding pacemakers are sometimes placed beside the heart and any rewiring (retubing, whatever) is done and they they sew them up, I believe they do the same if you get a kidney transplant, must be pushed for room though.

    • Re:Erm.. (Score:5, Informative)

      by achilles777033 ( 1090811 ) on Thursday July 05, 2007 @12:19PM (#19755235)
      A pacemaker doesn't beat a heart. It sends a signal (sets a pace) to cause a heart to beat of it's own accord. It is possible that the vibrations from that much moving flesh/blood could translate into an useful amount of energy back into the battery.

      • So, instead of just having to work to pump blood, the heart now has to do extra work to power a generator?

        Interesting idea, and I wonder what odd side effects that might have...if any. Maybe it would be a new-fangled exercise program!

        • Re:Erm.. (Score:4, Funny)

          by Xtravar ( 725372 ) on Thursday July 05, 2007 @01:14PM (#19755981) Homepage Journal
          Yeah, I can't wait until they can tap into our bodies' energy for computers and such. All of a sudden, obesity wouldn't be a problem anymore.

          • tap into our bodies' energy for computers and such. All of a sudden, obesity wouldn't be a problem anymore.


            Either that, or computers will get a whole lot slower ;)

        • So, instead of just having to work to pump blood, the heart now has to do extra work to power a generator?
          Oh man... I want them to apply this technology to some sort of exercise machine. Just have it tell my muscles to work and let them generate the power to continue working them... now if we could channel the unused energy into a battery of some type, you could design a robot to get you food and you could exercise all day long without even thinking about it!

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by EMeta ( 860558 )
      While I know you're being funny (successfully), for anyone who doesn't know, pacemakers provide the signal, not the power for heart beats.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Gnavpot ( 708731 )

        While I know you're being funny (successfully), for anyone who doesn't know, pacemakers provide the signal, not the power for heart beats.

        But the catch22 is still quite apparent, especially when considering that pacemakers often have a built in jump start function which give a really strong pulse if the heart stops beating.

        • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

          by Firethorn ( 177587 )
          So you provide enough storage to perform the jump start, continually topped off by the generator.

          I fail to see how it's a catch-22 any worse than the battery in a car: It provides the power to start the engine, yet has it's energy provided by the engine itself.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Coppit ( 2441 )
      Kudos to you! Never let reason get in the way of a good joke.
    • Can't rest, heart will stop, can't rest, heart will stop...

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Daath ( 225404 )
        Thanks for reminding me of Crank :) Jason Statham is pretty cool in that flick... I love how he takes his girlfriend in the middle of some sort of market to get his heart going :-D
  • wouldn't that be some sort of paradox...

    • Re:Heart powered pacemaker (Score:5, Informative)

      by rleibman ( 622895 ) on Thursday July 05, 2007 @12:19PM (#19755229) Homepage
      I'm not sure if you're joking. A pacemaker does not power the heart, what it does is replace the natural pacemaker a healthy heart has, in simple terms, the heart has a bunch of cells in charge of making sure all of the other muscle cells in the heart beat in unison, various causes may make these cells stop working (or working effectively, or their signals breaking down). An artificial pacemaker replaces or enhances the function of these cells. A heart powered pacemaker would work very well indeed, absent a pacemaker heart cells fall out of synch (or pacemaker cells in other parts of the heart take over, again, throwing things out of wack), but they keep on beating, so I imagine vibrations still exist to power this kind of device.
      • You're right. I was thinking of the implanted defibulators. Though it was still a joke. Thank you for the correction.

      • Re: (Score:2, Funny)

        by Acrylica ( 1124365 )
        If nothing else, the Heimlich manoeuvre could become a common technique for stopping heart attacks.
    • No. A pacemaker doesn't provide the energy to make the heart pump, it just provides a regular signal to tell the heart to pump.
    • Hearts requiring a pacemaker [wikipedia.org] are able to beat on their own. The pacemaker is there to regulate the speed at which the heart beats. Generally because the heart is beating at too slow of a rate on its own. So even a slow heart would still have more than enough vibration to kick start the pacemaker.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by vux984 ( 928602 )
      People with pacemakers tend to have issues with the 'beat now' signal reaching their heart at the correct time. They tend to have irregular heartbeats, skip beats, etc.

      The body is already providing all the power that is needed, its just got a signalling problem. The pacemaker merely provides a steady signal.

      In many respects its very similiar to the spark system in a car.

  • The solution to the global energy crisis! (Score:5, Funny)

    by cubicle_cowboy ( 521716 ) on Thursday July 05, 2007 @12:11PM (#19755125)

    Attach a few of these to Shakira's rear end and play "Hey Ya!" on repeat.

    Now where's my Nobel prize?

  • animal tracking (Score:5, Interesting)

    by WindBourne ( 631190 ) on Thursday July 05, 2007 @12:11PM (#19755127) Journal
    This could be useful for tracking animals. Allow a capacitor to store the energy and when high enough, then give a burst radio signal. Likewise, the moon has a load of tiny trembles that occur. It may be possible to build small sensors and/or radios that make use of that.

  • Bluetooth mice? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by xjerky ( 128399 ) on Thursday July 05, 2007 @12:11PM (#19755131)
    Could a bluetooth mouse take advantage of this, avoiding the need to ever replace batteries again?

    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      by TheRaven64 ( 641858 )
      Bluetooth probably requires too much power. Something like ZigBee might be possible.
    • Heh, took me a while to understand what you meant there.
      I was thinking "Sure it sounds nifty, but what would you actually do with a bluetooth-implanted mouse?".

    • For that you need more energy, so you're probably better off using a different technique (e.g. mechanical pendulum, as in Seiko's kinetic watches). Still, it's a great idea!

    • Ah, beat me to it. Having to replace the batteries in my mouse frequently, I often thing a self-charging wireless mouse would be sweet.

    • Re: (Score:2, Informative)

      by Joe Snipe ( 224958 )
      Not unless they pay this guy:

      http://www.freepatentsonline.com/20050174322.html [freepatentsonline.com]

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Ogive17 ( 691899 )
      I was thinking of my wiimotes.. I'd say there's much more motion involved.

      And even if it didn't completely power the device, I bet they could substantially extend the battery life.

  • What if... (Score:5, Funny)

    by otacon ( 445694 ) on Thursday July 05, 2007 @12:11PM (#19755137)
    You could make it bigger and adapt it to a car, the car vibrates as it goes down the road, in turn powering the device that allows it to go down the road...Perpetual motion automobile...I'd like my Nobel Prize now please...

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by suv4x4 ( 956391 )
      You could make it bigger and adapt it to a car, the car vibrates as it goes down the road, in turn powering the device that allows it to go down the road...Perpetual motion automobile...I'd like my Nobel Prize now please...

      Well, good thing that Nobel prizes are not given by those who modded you interesting, but I get the joke.
  • www.enocean.com

    By the way, if anyone has used any of their stuff yet, let me know.
  • For viability in the world the important thing will be if this stays running in all conditions without a failure rate. Batteries are old technology but the one thing that keeps them in everything is that they have good reliability, a watch battery will last for years and then be thrown out into a landfill and replaced for example. It might not be good for the environment like this but it's the only option unless this can work. Still looks like fascinating technology, it'd just be interesting to know how clo

  • Headline double-take (Score:5, Funny)

    by HangingChad ( 677530 ) on Thursday July 05, 2007 @12:18PM (#19755227) Homepage

    Did anyone besides me first read that as: Tiny Generator Runs Off Vibrators ?

    Or was that just me?

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Tx ( 96709 )
      "Tiny Vibrator Runs Off Generator" - too small to fit a battery in.

  • Ladies.... (Score:2, Funny)

    by 2Bits ( 167227 )
    ... You now get perpetual free power for your vibrator, woohoo! We boys still have to do hand cranking, woooo....

  • nothing new here? She has one of those 'self-winding' watches. ok maybe that's recovering mechanical energy from movement but this is recovering electrical energy from vibration, not a whole lot of difference really.

  • Vibrators (Score:2, Funny)

    by CrazyKen ( 1109907 )
    At this rate, it won't be long until we have self-sustaining vibrators that don't require batteries.

  • lame! (Score:4, Funny)

    by abes ( 82351 ) on Thursday July 05, 2007 @12:44PM (#19755599) Homepage
    This is stupid. We already have better technology that can constantly produce clean infinite energy based off of the variances in the magnetic fields. I've read about it in three tech web sites!

    The only reason this article could make the pagers of /. is because the editors are bias and being paid off.

  • Just out of curiosity, how much seismic vibration do you get out of the earth on a typical day? What if you had a huge version of this concept that harnessed power from earth vibration? (say, you had a HUGE weight suspended between springs, and the relative motion of the weight and the earth would generate power?)

    • Make an array about a quarter of a mile long, fifty feet wide and four feet thick and then float it in the ocean? There is constant motion there and floating is relatively easy.

      Why one of you math geeks figure out how much energy that would produce per day.
  • This is really cool, but can you ever recapture the amount of energy used to manufacture them? They'd still be better than batteries for a lot of things, though.
  • Other than a microphone anyone got ideas for ways to convert sound into electricity? This device seems like it would hit the mark. I had an idea once that I figured would made a good back ground for a SCI-FI novel. Generators that produced power while assorbing annoying background noise. For example line highways with them to produce power while cutting down on noise polution.
  • Georgia Tech Unveils Prototype Nanogenerator [slashdot.org], Journal written by Randolpho (628485) and posted by CowboyNeal on Wed Apr 11, '07 01:47 PM.

    Researchers at Georgia Institute of Technology have created a working prototype nanogenerator capable of generating as much as 4 watts per cubic centimeter of continuous direct current. The generators are green (to use), drawing power from natural motion in the surrounding environment. They are based on non-toxic chemicals and should be safe for use in biomechanical impla

  • Prior art is actually patent 5,578,877 [uspto.gov]. It's just bigger.

  • The 1st thing I thought of for this was, 'great, never have to change battery on my wiimotes again.' Can't wait for this to go into production. Now the important question, how about voltage? can they package this into a AAA or AA form and still get the required voltage?
  • "Cell phone's halfway charged. Keep jumping on the bed, kids!"

  • In a pacemaker the beating of the human heart would be strong enough to keep the magnets inside the device wobbling.

    It's interesting that just the heart's beating would be strong enough to work. If this assumes the rest of the body is motionless, then even more electrical output is possible. Many people with pacemakers are still active physically -- walking around, riding in cars, having sex, etc. -- so, more vibration energy!

  • tiny generator that uses local vibrations ... could be used in devices such as pacemakers

    Hmmm, "local vibrations"? However you slice *that* sounds better than the current generation of "self-winding" pacemakers which require you to rotate end-over-end for an hour each day!

  • We've had generators that work off vibrations for like, over 100 years. They're called "microphones", or "phono cartridges". And yes, they do generate microwatts. A yell into a crystal microphone can put out almost a volt into 100K, thats 1 / 10^5 or 10 microwatts.

    I don't see much application for this-- very few circuits can run on microwatts.

  • So, Apple have been trying to change the mindset regarding user changerable batteries for the iPods and iPhones - these generators would address the issue once and for all - assuming they retain rotaional HDAs for the primary storage. Solid state wouldn't provide the vibration required to charge up the generator.

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