Typing-powered laptops 'in three years'

Australian researchers are claiming a breakthrough in technology that could extend battery life dramatically.
Piezoelectric materials - substances that generate electricity when subjected to pressure or concussion - have been known since the 1880s when they were discovered by Pierre Curie, husband of Marie. The researchers from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology have become the first to be able to accurately measure the energy generated by thin pizoelectric films, which they hope will be easier to incorporate into electronic devices such as laptops, mobile phone chargers and pacemakers.

The research, published in the journal Advanced Funtional Materials, does not go so far as to say that the films will be able to power the devices entirely, but does hope for the development of what it calls ‘integrated microscale energy scavenging systems,’ which would improve efficiency and extend battery life without having to wait for improvement in the batteries themselves.

Dr Madhu Bhaskaran led the research. She told ABC News in Australia: ‘Currently the energy levels we’re able to generate is around ten times less than what’s required, so that’s the next step, to amplify it by ten times, so we can produce an everlasting battery or replace exisiting batteries. If we can amplify the power, which we think will take three years, it should be fairly quick to commercialise it.’