The charger is actually a small piezoelectric microbelt that has the capacity to generate tiny amounts of electricity. The researchers behind the study, Xudong Wang, Chengliang Sun and Jian Shi, explain that the device generates a charge when it vibrates because of exposure to moving air – or someone’s breath. The microbelt can hold and deliver enough energy to recharge medical devices like blood glucose monitors and pacemakers, which is great news, because the batteries for these devices often have to replaced via surgery.

The device can be implanted into the human nose. So it doesn’t make use of the breath coming from your mouth per se, although if you’re a huge talker (or a mouth breather), then that’s a whole different story.

[PhysOrg via Dvice]

The tiny power generation system uses a vibrating cantilever that is made from a piezoelectric material. The material is able to generate electric potential that is turned into actual electricity to charge a thin-film battery about the size of a postage stamp. The cantilever is able to generate about 200 microwatts of power. The researchers say that 200 microwatts is a usable amount in many applications.

That is enough juice to operate low power sensors like those used to monitor tire pressure in late model automobiles. The technology can be used for lots of other things as well. There is no indication of when the tech might make it to the market.

[via Technology Review]

A team of researchers from Australia’s RMIT University think that this is possible. It will rely on a thin piezoelectric film built into laptops to convert mechanical pressure into electrical energy. Their research has focused on studying how much energy can be captured using this method – currently around 1/10th the amount needed to power your average gadget. Their next step will be to figure out how to amplify the power stored, so it could be useful.

For now, the tech isn’t ready to be mass produced , so you’ll have to wait a while before powering your laptop by simply using the keyboard or trackpad. But the concept could someday lead to piezoelectrics in your shoes and clothes to power your mobile phones, pacemakers powered by blood pressure, and so on. I wonder when I’ll have my first piezoelectric keyboard.

[via DVice]

The shirt uses tech that harnesses sound vibrations, particularly those from bass, to recharge your device. The electricity is generated by moving the t-shirt’s piezoelectric film. I would like to know how much power the shirt can generate.

Exactly how the shirt stores and transfers energy and and what devices it can charge are unknown at this time. What I do know is that the prototype shirts in the photo look really dumb. The shirt charger is being tested at a music festival at Glastonbury in the UK.

[via Orange]

Fils Sound Film is a flexible, light transparent sound technology which can be used to create speakers pretty much anywhere you’d ever want. The speakers are actually produced using piezoelectric film which can produce sound waves when electrical current is applied. Sound quality isn’t stellar, since the low-end drops out at 200Hz, but the highs range all the way to 25kHz.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Fils currently wholesales a number of strange looking speaker units that are made from the thin stuff, like these.

But I think the real innovation will come when display manufacturers start layering this stuff in front of tiny flat screen portable devices which don’t have room for a speaker. I imagine you could also produce some pretty cool interactive art using this tech.

You can get more information on Sound Film technology over at the Fils website.

Johns Hopkins materials scientist Michaely Yu and his team claim to have invented a material which could allow for piezoelectic sound devices to be placed in areas previously thought to be too challenging.

The invention provides for a resin polymer which possesses piezoelectric properties usually found only in very heavy, brittle materials. If the early findings hold up, the flexible material and could be used to produce a coating which could create speakers embedded into wallpaper or even speakers that could be folded in two.

[Patent Application via New Scientist]