Batteries may soon be a thing of the past for low-power wearable technology devices, with the potential for energy to be generated from body heat and movement, plus ambient energy from the environment.

Researchers discussed the potential for new energy harvesting techniques at the recent Hot Chips conference in Cupertino, California. Although technology in the field is developing fast – with the powering of medical implants, monitoring sensors and disposable medical patches within reach – fitness wearables as we know them remain some way off.

“Energy harvested from the body and environment is in the microwatt range, so it can’t be used for smartwatches or fitness trackers, which draw milliwatts of energy,” said Yogesh Ramadass, lead design engineer at Texas Instruments, during a presentation.

But despite these common wearables facing a longer wait before they can banish batteries, exciting progress is still being made in the way these devices are powered.

Currently encumbered by the need to house bulky Li-Ion battery packs, smartwatches and fitness trackers could soon be sporting revolutionary designs thanks to a Californian startup working on flexible, paper-thin batteries. Imprint Energy has secured US$6m (€4.5m, £3.6m) in funding as it bids to bring its printable zinc battery to market.

The ‘ZincPoly’ battery is rechargeable, cheap to produce (due to the abundance of zinc) and has a lifetime comparable to its Li-Ion counterpart. Imprint Energy hasn’t put a timeframe on developments yet, but says the funding will help to hasten development as the firm bids to make its mark in both the wearable and internet of things markets.

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