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Your Body, the Battery: Powering Gadgets From Human "Biofuel"

Posted by samzenpus on from the power-up dept.

An anonymous reader writes: This article takes a look at the future of electronic devices powered by the human body. From the electric voltage in mammal ears called the endocochlear potential, to body heat, and muscle motion, there are a number of exciting new areas of energy research being explored. Ars reports: "Staying alive guzzles energy. In order to keep us ticking, our bodies need to burn between 2,000 and 2,500 calories per day, which is conveniently enough to power a modestly used smart phone. So if just a fraction of that energy could be siphoned, our bodies could in theory be used to run any number of electronic devices, from medical implants to electronic contact lenses—all without a battery in sight. Recently, researchers have taken important strides toward unlocking this electric potential."

10 of 67 comments (clear)

  1. enough to power a huge smartphone by close_wait · · Score: 2, Informative

    " which is conveniently enough to power a modestly used smart phone". Actually 2000 calories per day is about 100W. That's a pretty damned big smartphone.

    1. Re:enough to power a huge smartphone by weilawei · · Score: 4, Interesting

      GP said calories (implying kilocalories) and did the conversion right. It's 96.9 watts according to Wolfram Alpha.

    2. Re:enough to power a huge smartphone by behrooz0az · · Score: 5, Interesting

      wolframalpha has some more interesting numbers for "2k Cal per day in watts":
      ~~ (1 to 5) × typical laptop power consumption ( 20 to 60 W )
      ~~ (1 to 1.1) × human daily average power ( 85 to 100 W )
      ~~ 0.81 × power output from a 1 square meter solar panel in full sunlight at 12% efficiency at sea level (~~ 120 W )
      ~~ 0.75 × peak power consumption of a Pentium 4 CPU (central processing unit) (~~ 130 W )

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    3. Re:enough to power a huge smartphone by dinfinity · · Score: 2

      Technically, it would have to have been either Calories or kilocalories. Note the capital letter in the former.
      Yes, it is very confusing.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

  2. Re:Soylent Green? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    "Fred, did you check to see if you put him in backwards?"

  3. Would I have to eat extra? by Edis+Krad · · Score: 2

    To generate extra energy to power my devices? I could see myself enjoying that :D

    1. Re:Would I have to eat extra? by Nrrqshrr · · Score: 3, Insightful

      This is an interesting question. The body generates that energy for a reason, to perform maintenance, to power up its system, and to store the excess as reserves in case of an emergency, right? So if we actually find a way of tapping into that excess, we could theoretically eat to our heart's content without a single worry.

    2. Re:Would I have to eat extra? by NormalVisual · · Score: 3, Funny

      "The Motorola BioPhone 1 - it's not just a phone, it's a weight loss program too!"

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      Please stand clear of the doors, por favor mantenganse alejado de las puertas
    3. Re:Would I have to eat extra? by DarkOx · · Score: 2

      I would think the answer would be a qualified yes. Athletes like marathon runners, hikers, swimmers, cyclists etc who participate at the competitive levels of their sports tend to consume a lot more calories and other folks at their same approximate height and weight; same for people who do physical labor, farm workers, construction etc.

      So on some level more energy out, means you will get to put more energy in. I suspect however you can't just "plug in" you 80W smart phone and double you calorie intake. Our bodies are complex systems of feedback and hysteresis mechanisms. Athletes and workers build up to those metabolic levels. Your body probably won't react appropriately to such a sudden change in demands. It might be possible to "work up" to being your phones sole power source.

      Then again I would be concerned about gadgets and the metabolic effects of disconnecting them or turning them off. An athlete does not put away the extra muscle tissue when its not in use. It might not consume as much energy as when its performing but its still there metabolizing and throwing energy off as waste heat. So for like a pace maker that is always on and goes everywhere you do this probably makes sense and would be something body adapts to like any other parasite. I don't want to plug in my phone and pass out from low blood sugar because my body isn't expecting the sudden load.

      --
      Repeal the 17th Amendment TODAY! Also Please Read http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/right-to-read.html
  4. Re:Deliberate 'overextraction'? by Rhywden · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The article talks, among other things, about biofuel cells which target glucose - so, actually, yes, using those devices would lead to weight reduction. Because that's one of the more important ways to distribute energy throughout the body: delivering glucose where it's needed which the cells then convert again in the citrate cycle to more readily usable stuff.

    Thus, using machines based on this kind of fuel would lead to weight reduction the same way it would when you exercise.