Researchers Build Wearable Generators 84
schliz writes "From the itnews article: 'Bioengineers from the University of Auckland have developed cheap, lightweight rubber power generators that could harvest up to a Watt of power if embedded in shoes. The researchers built on "dielectric elastomer generator" technology that used the movements of a flexible, non-conductive material to build up charge in attached electrodes.'"
Help power cars? (Score:2, Interesting)
I wonder if something like this could be embedded in the tires of a car to help generate electricity to power it self. Would it actually be able to generate enough electricity to make it worthwhile for an electric car though?
Re:Up to a Watt of power (Score:5, Interesting)
A watt can recharge an entire smartphone battery in 1-2 hours... I'd welcome a pair of shoes that provides me with a Watt of power when I walk around.