Currently the technology of batteries is getting better all the time and this is good news for cell phone users, laptop owners and the latest iPod craze. With all the new batteries available and life usage before recharge they still leave a lot to be desired. For instance hikers on a weekend trip may take their iPods with them camping but by the end of the first day the batteries are shot and there are not outlets to just plug into. Similarly GPS units, cell phones and other critical devices often run down in rescue search efforts. We read many reports after Hurricane Katrina where handheld communication devices simply ran out of steam and thus poor communication slowed rescue efforts. Military Soldiers in the battlespace also have issues where they cannot deliver critical information to the Net-Centric satellite uplink and thus put lives in danger and give an edge to the enemy. But it does not have to be like this, we can do it without batteries. How so you ask? We can now use vibrational energies, which are collected as the soldier or hiker moves. You see each time he or she makes a step we can use a well-known technique of electromagnetic induction using some old Faraday Principles. Each step will send a slight charge to the LED chip and light within the unit and thus allow the electronic item the energy it needs to stay powered up. Think on this in 2006. |
