Applying power

Since power is ubiquitous in electronics, new developments are always coming in from everywhere. New applications, devices, and approaches are constantly redefining the industry.

All the emphasis on energy savings has created an opportunity for products that save, manage, or harvest energy efficiently. Researchers have demonstrated a prototype nanometer-scale generator that produces continuous direct-current electricity by harvesting mechanical energy from such environmental sources as ultrasonic waves, mechanical vibration or blood flow. Based on arrays of vertically-aligned zinc oxide nanowires that move inside a novel “zig-zag” plate electrode, the nanogenerators could provide a new way to power nanoscale devices without batteries or other external power sources. For more information, contact Prof. Z. L. Wang at
.

In the area of application innovation, batteries from Saft (Valdese, NC) have been selected as the primary power source for a portable Human Patient Simulator called iStan. Built by Medical Education Technologies, the full-size computer-driven mannequin has a pulse, heartbeat and blinking eyes and mirrors human responses to various medical procedures.