Piezoelectric

There are untold energy sources all around us, if we can just figure out how to tap into them. Swiss researchers have now demonstrated an environmentally friendly way to make spongy wood flooring that can generate electricity with every step.

We've already heard about implantable materials with a scaffolding-like microstructure, that help heal broken bones by giving bone cells a place to migrate into. A new one could work even better, though, by also providing electrical stimulation.

A new MIT system is designed for charging batteries to power a network of sensors that would transmit data from the sea floor.

Not only do cockroaches give many people the creeps, but often when you step on one of the critters, it just keeps on scurrying. Such resilience would be a good feature for mini-robots designed to scout disaster sites – among other applications – which is why scientists have created such a device.

In today’s concrete jungle, pavement takes up a lot of space, so we might as well cram some smarts in there. Now NASA is installing a high-tech new path that lights up, emits Wi-Fi signals and generates electricity, due to greet visitors to the Kennedy Space Center.

​With their ability to generate electricity from mechanical stress, piezoelectric systems made from synthetic materials are great and all, but you know what might be even better? Piezoelectric systems made from natural materials.

In the future, we might overcome anxiety about a dying phone battery by doing a few star jumps. Researchers are developing an ultra-thin device that can generate electricity from motions as subtle as sitting down, opening up possibilities of clothes that charge phones or light up like an LCD screen.

Energy harvesting devices that generate electricity from light, heat, and mechanical pressure in a single package may soon be possible. Researchers from the University of Oulu have discovered a crystal mineral material that is able to simultaneously generate electricity from all these sources.

One of the biggest hurdles that electric cars face in going mainstream is range anxiety. To help combat this, Goodyear came up with its BHO3 concept tire, which generates electricity by converting heat and motion into current as the tire rolls – and even when it's standing still.

Falls are the leading cause of death by injury amongst seniors. Now, however, a new study indicates that subtly-buzzing insoles may help seniors regain some of the lost sensation in their feet, and thus be less likely to fall down.

Researchers are laying claim to having observed piezoelectricity in an atomically thin material for the first time. The effect was demonstrated in the world's thinnest electric generator made from a two-dimensional MoS2 material.

Canadian researchers have developed a chin strap capable of generating electricity from jaw movements. The team is hopeful that the strap will be able to harvest energy from common actions like eating, chewing and talking to power medical implants and wearable devices.