Researchers at the University of Wisconsin released a study showing how to power our Smartphones from the kinetic energy in our shoes. That means if you’re walking, you’re plugged in. This technology has been around for a few years, but until now scientists didn’t know how to generate enough electricity to be useable. The BBC describes how researchers figured a way around the problem: “The new personal mechanism uses a principle known as ‘reverse electrowetting’ – converting the energy of moving microscopic liquid droplets into an electrical current. Once placed in a shoe, the device – which consists of thousands of these electrically conductive droplets – is able to generate electrical energy.” The trouble now is figuring out how to plug in your device. You could plug it into your shoe, but that seems, um… a little impractical. The researchers are hoping to figure out a sleeker solution soon.
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