You can power your own wearable technology just by wearing it, playing host to a living battery. I’m talking about microbes.
The human body already supports microbial and bacterial life, serving purposes like supporting your immune system. Researchers at Binghamton University, State University of New York argue that bacterial cells could also act as fuel cells for your wearable technology.
“If we consider that humans possess more bacterial cells than human cells in their bodies, the direct use of bacterial cells as a power resource interdependently with the human body is conceivable for wearable electronics,” said Seokheun Choi, electrical and computer science assistant professor at Binghamton University.
Choi understands that compared to traditional batteries, microbial fuel cells can act as a biocatalyst to provide stable enzymatic reactions and a long lifetime. Human sweat can thus be used as a potential fuel to support bacterial viability and consequently support the long-term operation of microbial fuel cells.
The Binghamton University research team, led by Choi, has developed a textile-based, bacteria-powered bio-battery to test the concept.
In the video above, you can see how the battery can be folded like origami, just as with regular paper, and has been able to run effectively on the bacteria from just a few drops of dirty water.
The bio-battery has so far exhibited stable electricity-generating capability when tested under repeated stretching and twisting cycles. Choi explained that the device could establish a standardized platform for textile-based bio-batteries and, in the future, could be integrated into wearable electronics.
“There is a clear and pressing need for flexible and stretchable electronics that can be easily integrated with a wide range of surroundings to collect real-time information,” said Choi. “Those electronics must perform reliably even while intimately used on substrates with complex and curvilinear shapes, like moving body parts or organs. We considered a flexible, stretchable, miniaturized bio-battery as a truly useful energy technology because of its sustainable, renewable and eco-friendly capabilities.”
This research was supported by the National Science Foundation, the Binghamton University Research Foundation and a Binghamton University Analytical and Diagnostics Laboratory (ADL) Small Grant.
To learn more, view the full paper published in Advanced Energy Materials.