Managing battery drain and limited battery life are the major drawbacks of wearable electronic devices today.
But thanks to the rechargeable battery prototype developed by the University of Surrey, just 30 seconds of sunlight exposure could boost the battery life of your smartwatches and other wearable devices.
Scientists from the Universities of Surrey and Cyprus, Zhengzhou University, and the National Physical Laboratory in Middlesex have developed this environmentally friendly prototype battery.
The unique photo-rechargeable system merges zinc-ion batteries with perovskite solar cells, to allow wearables to spring back to life without plug-in charging.
Yunglong Zhao, PhD and project co-lead said, “The unique features in our ultrafast photo-rechargeable system could promote wide applications in self-powered wearable Internet of Things [IoT], autonomous power systems, and emergency electronics,”
“In addition, it will broaden the perception and insight of designing the next generation of miniaturized flexible photo-rechargeable systems.”
The battery prototype which is a combination of zinc micro-battery and perovskite solar cell, built using inkjet printing and electrodeposition, can be integrated into wearable electronics to harvest energy from sunlight. Just 30 seconds of light exposure could power your wearable device for tens of minutes.
