Web of Things

Tiny ribbons that generate electricity when flexed and flex when stimulated with electricity have been developed to flap the wings of mechanical dragonfly spy drones, but the technology can also find uses ranging from powering iPods and cell phones...

Tiny ribbons that generate electricity when flexed and flex when stimulated with electricity have been developed to flap the wings of mechanical dragonfly spy drones, but the technology can also find uses ranging from powering iPods and cell phones to charging batteries by converting to electricity the vibration of devices deployed in data centers. (...)

Researchers at Princeton University have embedded these brittle ribbons in silicone rubber, allowing them to flex and also protect them from environments where they might be deployed, such as in shoes - to capture mechanical energy as people walk in them - or implanted within humans - to capture the motion of lungs to power pacemakers. (...)

Power generation using the PZT ribbons is similar to solar cells except that solar cells require sunshine. "Here you need to continuously generate motion to power things," he says. PZT is also more efficient than solar cells, which capture 25% of the energy they absorb. PZT captures 80%, McAlpine says.