Your body could become a battery for wearable devices thanks to a breakthrough in harvesting energy waste from the upcoming 6G wireless communication network.
Researchers from the University of Massachusetts Amherst have discovered that radio frequency (RF) energy emitted from visible light communication (VLC), when utilized for 6G transmission, can be collected using small, inexpensive copper coils and transmitted to power other devices through the human body.
Copper coils and the human body can harvest excess energy from the 6G wireless network. (Photo: Oscar Wong).
6G is the future wireless communication technology that is currently under development and is expected to be deployed before the end of this decade.
The core of this mechanism lies in VLC—technology that transmits data through extremely rapid visible light beams from sources like LED lights. VLC is a method through which 6G signals could theoretically be transmitted in the future. However, LEDs also emit sub-channel RF signals in the form of leakage energy. Researchers found that this energy can be harvested using copper coils, with the energy recycling efficiency enhanced when in contact with human skin.
According to the study, skin contact increases efficiency by up to ten times compared to using the coils alone. The human body also demonstrates a better capability to amplify the leaked radio energy from the coils than materials like wood, plastic, cardboard, or steel.
Body Battery
From this, the researchers have created “Bracelet+”—a simple copper coil that can be worn on the wrist. This design can also be adapted to be worn as a necklace, ankle bracelet, or ring, although scientists found that this wristband could effectively gather energy while remaining comfortable to wear.
“This design is extremely cheap—less than fifty cents (half a dollar), the study’s authors noted. “But Bracelet+ can reach microwatt levels, sufficient to support many sensors like health tracking sensors on the body, which require minimal power to operate due to low sampling frequencies and long sleep times.”
Such technology could address the issue of limited battery life in wearable devices. Even high-end smartwatches, like the Apple Watch, tend to need recharging almost daily, which can diminish their usefulness unless recharging is part of a person’s daily routine. Furthermore, as smart bracelets become increasingly popular, there are even more devices that require frequent battery recharging.
Therefore, the energy harvesting technology supported by Bracelet+ could become a form of on-site charger for next-generation wearable devices, provided these devices can harness energy from the wristband. Moreover, this depends on the 6G network using VLC, which is still a long way from deployment, not to mention widespread application and integration into consumer or industrial devices.
The lead author of the study, Jie Xiong, a professor of computer and information science at UMass Amherst, stated: “We want to be able to harvest waste energy from any source to power future technologies.”
