LOOK: Charge Your Phone With a Touch of a Finger

Mobile phone companies are in the race to produce the first-ever mobile unit that can be recharged by using it, fully eliminating the need for plugged-in chargers. According to researchers, they are close to producing this kind of technology, and touch-chargeable gadgets will be within the reach of consumers in the next few years.

Recently, there had been numerous reports of faulty mobile chargers causing fires in homes as well as injuries. These chargers are usually less durable than the mobile phone itself. With everyday use, mobile chargers need to be replaced every few years. This is not only ineffective but also very expensive. It is because of this that scientists developed the idea of human-motion charging.

According to a report from Telegraph UK, mobile phone developers aim to design gadgets that use a system similar to how pacemakers use energy from heart beat to recharge. There are devices now that can be incorporated in clothing and sportswear to capture energy from motion. Energy captured and stored from walking, exercising, or running can be used to charge devices. However, wearable power generation is not yet the finish line for scientists.

As explained by HowStuffWorks, motion-powered electronics capitalizes on human motion to produce energy. It may use footsteps, exercise, dancing, and many more to power different devices. However, experts want to be able to generate power from the simplest form of human motion, which is when a mobile phone is being used.

A new study, as reported by Tree Hugger, has develop a nanogenerator film that can be used to record and capture energy from simple hand-mobile interactions such as swiping, taking photos, text messaging, and many more. Whenever the film is touched, pressed, or swiped, it can produce electricity. This team from the Michigan State University used this nanogenerator to power up an LCD touch screen successfully. Further development of this film may be the next big thing for mobile technology as it allows mobile recharging with the touch or swipe of a finger.