Backpack reduction powers electronics by extracting energy from walking

Hikers, soldiers and school children are aware of the burden of a heavy backpack. But now, researchers have developed a prototype that will not only make loads feel about 20% lighter, but also extract energy from human movements to power it. for small electronics. The new backpack, reportedly ACS Nano, which may be particularly useful for athletes, researchers and disaster rescuers working in remote areas without electricity, the researchers say.

Backpacks are widely used in daily life for carrying hands-free loads. Over time, however, walking or running with a heavy bag can cause back and neck pain. Also, backpacks in desert areas (or even those in cities that do not have access to a charger) might want a bag that can harness the mechanical energy of walking to supply electricity or monitoring sensors Cheers. Previously, researchers have used triboelectric nanogenerators (TENG) – small devices that convert mechanical energy into electricity ¬¬– to make energy-saving bags, but these bags had very low power outputs and did not provide additional benefits, such as lightening load or panic capture. Zhong Lin Wang, Jia Cheng and colleagues wanted to design a prototype that would transcend these boundaries.

To save labor and absorb shock, the researchers inserted into the backpack two elastomers that stretched and flexed, keeping the bag stable as the wearer walked. . As a result the consumer had a force of 20% less. At the same time, movement between the frame of the backpack and its load occurred while walking TENG to convert mechanical energy into electricity, with an efficiency of 14%. The researchers showed that the bag could power LEDs, an electric clock and fluorescent tubes. Once some challenges, such as improving energy conversion efficiency, are overcome, the barrier has promising potential as a power source for small and portable consumption electronics, GPS and healthcare sensors, the researchers say.

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The authors acknowledge funding from China National Natural Science Trust, China Major Science and Technology Project, China National Main Research and Development Program and Tsinghua University Enterprise Scientific Research Program.

A summary of the paper will be available on February 3 at 8 a.m. East here: http: // pubs.acs.org /doi /abs /10.1021 /acsnano.0c07498

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