1999’s The Matrix depicts a cyberpunk dystopia where human bodies are used to generate electricity for an army of machines.
Since then, spoilsports have pointed out that humans aren’t really a viable replacement for batteries.
Except…
… maybe they could be?
As wearable tech becomes more popular, companies have tried to solve this problem — though, hopefully not at the behest of our future machine masters.
- Somewhat theoretical projects have indicated that it is possible, just not on the level of The Matrix’s human farms.
The latest advancement in human-battery tech comes from Australia’s Queensland University of Technology, per Popular Science.
- Researchers have created a thermoelectric film using tiny “nanocrystals.”
- Worn on the skin, they “turn the temperature difference between the human body and surrounding air into electricity.”
- If the tech can be scaled, it could be used to power medical devices like pacemakers without ever replacing batteries.
- It could also power clothing that actively cools the wearer, or obvious solutions, like putting it on a smartwatch or smart glasses.
But wait, there’s more!
The tech is potentially just as good for machinekind as it is for humankind:
- Researchers suggest the film could also cool small computer chips, like those in phones, plus big data centers that rely on tons of water to avoid overheating, like the ones running LLMs and other AI platforms.
- This could even cut down on tech’s environmental impact.
Imagine using a phone that is charged by contact with your hand, and the chip inside is cooled by the heat generated from the chip itself.
Now imagine that on a bigger scale, where you’re, say, stuck in a pod that generates electricity from contact with your skin, and it powers an army of robots. Fun and plausible, right?
