Texas Instruments gets excited about energy scavenging

Texas Instruments has a lot to do with the original microchip, if for no other reason than being the employer of inventor Jack Kilby. Now, however, TI is looking to produce chips and other related gizmos that require an infinitesimally small amount of energy to operate. The overriding theme guiding the engineers is "energy scavenging," which alludes to grasping power from even the most unlikely of places -- vibrations from a bridge as cars pass over, capturing wasted exhaust from a car or bottling up all that frustration your sibling shows when you own him / her again in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. The possibilities are just about endless, with networked battery-free smoke alarms, solar-powered mobiles and gaming laptops that feed off of extraordinarily focused brain waves in the mix. Okay, so that last one is still eons from reality, but at least we're headed in that direction.

[▀█▀ █ ▀█▀ ▄█▀ @ Aug 25th 2008 8:11AM]

wait wat?

[Dre @ Aug 25th 2008 8:26AM]

About bloody time something liek this was invented.
Im not saying it takes a lot of effort to actually come up with something like this but it sure took them long enough.

[Muhammed @ Aug 25th 2008 8:23AM]

charging my laptop by my brain, I would be amazed if that happened!!! it would be super cool!

[Mustaine @ Aug 25th 2008 8:28AM]

Harnessing brain waves eh? I can imagine angry gamers kids overclocking their machines with pure rage.
Maybe games like Crisis will produce the first Super Saiyan in an attempt to run the game with all settings on high.

[andrew shanks @ Aug 25th 2008 9:12AM]

I think that might just blow the PC!

[waffles @ Aug 25th 2008 9:18AM]

there are a couple of good ideas floating around out there using the same idea. one involves creating small antennas tuned to GSM, CDMA, and 2.4 spectrum. there is plenty of excess RF energy bouncing around out there, and if you create the antenna properly there is the potential to power small devices... all without a battery.

[Evan @ Aug 25th 2008 8:38AM]

Nothing new, we've had "kinetic watches" and "solar powered calculators" for decades. It's about time these technologies are applied to more devices. If my watch can be powered by the movements of my wrist, why can't my BlueTooth headset be powered by the movements of my head?

[Ste @ Aug 27th 2008 9:05AM]

Saw this on Click?

[cardsfan @ Aug 25th 2008 10:23AM]

Good idea, evan, but I don't think I'd like the extra weight of the kinetic-powered mechanism hanging from my head.

[cardsfan @ Aug 25th 2008 10:24AM]

Test.

[couchpundit @ Aug 25th 2008 10:37AM]

Can you imagine trying to board an aircraft with that thing in the picture? Maybe they can also harvest energy from your anxiety in the cavity search room...

[tealfixie @ Aug 25th 2008 11:06AM]

You forgot to mention harnessing energy from a bunch of grapes. Yum

[NoAndThen @ Aug 25th 2008 11:51AM]

FINALLY! We need this tech in absolutely everything we can fit it in. Every little bit helps get us to all renewable energy!

Why not capture energy from doors and windows opening and closing? Excess heat from an oven? Have a small storae tank under your sink that holds waste water until full, and then dumps it down a hydroelectric generator?

I'm no engineer, but if we don't think big we'll never make even small advances.

Even a small amount of energy over a year makes a big difference.

[Alec @ Aug 25th 2008 12:39PM]

"It's about time someone invented this." What the hell? How condescending can you be? This kind of technology took millions of dollars and years of hard work by many people, and all you can say is "It's about time"? What have you done to further technology? If it's so simple, why didn't YOU invent it years ago?

[lman @ Aug 25th 2008 3:06PM]

Next step in this technology: Iphones with no battery that runs on the Ego of its owner. Then apple will save the world by wirelessly powering cities for free using the same technology.

[RapidKiller @ Aug 25th 2008 3:06PM]

what about compost energy? I have already read about it but it would be very easy to turn a small compost pile into to a small energy device