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If you have travelled by air in recent years, you are probably familiar with this picture. You are the terminal, you pass through security, and now you are finally at your gate. Then you notice your smart phone is about to die. You think,”No big deal, I will charge it at the free charging island”. However, you soon realize ten or more people had the same idea and all the outlets are in use. Yes, my friends we live in the era of electronics. Whether it is your smart phone, tablet, laptop, or all of the above, we are more-connected than ever. Providing however, our batteries are charged. Yes, there has been great improvement with lithium batteries in the past few years, but it never seems enough.

Well, that is up until now. South Korean scientists have developed very small devices, like a patch, that can take your body heat and turn it into electricity. Yes, you read that right. This fantastic development means that all the thermal energy that is wasted every day worldwide can actually be harnessed and put to work. The number of applications for this technology is enormous. Cars, airplanes and just about any combustion-based vehicle can be an energy generator. Of course, thermal-energy devices have existed for some time now, however none of them are good at harvesting body heat because they are neither light nor flexible. But, this new technology overcomes those obstacles.

It looks like in as little as a couple of years you may be able to kiss good bye to your battery operated devices in favor of self-powered devices.  And, let’s face it that’s cool, or I should say hot!

Great new technologies seem to pop up every day and with them come opportunities to invest, and great advantages for end users. That’s what keeps me excited to be in the industry. 

There is not much public information about these devices yet, but if you want to learn more you can go to the Korean Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, better known as KAIST http://www.kaist.edu/,and look up the work of professor Byung Jin Cho. Professor Byung Jin Cho has an extensive body of work. You can also look up the original report by ABC news.

Great new technologies seem to pop up every day and with them come opportunities to invest, and great advantages for end users. That’s what keeps me excited to be in the industry.