Battery life is the bane of most people’s existence, including mine. The good news is that there is certainly lots of buzz among materials engineers to develop something with greater capacity and efficiency than the ubiquitous lithium ion battery. Lewei Linat UC Berkeley is taking a different approach to extending battery life by using piezoelectric nanowires to generate electricity. For those of you new to the growing field of piezoelectric engineering, its where scientists and engineers are trying to develop novel materials that harvest kinetic energy. In other words, making a jacket that harvests electricity as a byproduct of your movement.
The energy market is ripe for innovation. Current methods of energy production are extremely inefficient and expensive, and I rather like the idea of charging my iPhone by simply walking to the grocery store. Or better yet, finally being able to take my favorite mobile devices on a 3 month trek in the back-country. Nature abundant, outlet free, GPS enabled, and routinely jamming to Quantic.
Certainly, Nike is rapt with attention.
