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KNEE BRACE
Scientists at the University of Michigan have created a new energy-
capturing knee brace that can generate enough electricity from walking
to operate a portable GPS locator, cell phone, motorized prosthetic
joint, or implanted neurotransmitter. The wearable mechanism works
similarly to how regenerative braking charges a battery in hybrid
vehicles, said Arthur Kuo, an associate professor of mechanical
engineering at UM.
Regenerative brakes collect the kinetic energy that would otherwise be
dissipated as heat when a car slows down. This knee brace harvests the
energy lost when a human brakes the knee after swinging the leg forward
to take a step. "There is power to be harvested from various places in
the body, and you can use that to generate electricity. The knee is
probably the best place," Kuo said.
The 3.5-pound prototype device is bulky, but the energy harvester
itself has little effect on the wearer. Similar mechanisms could be
built into prosthetic knees and other implantable devices like
pacemakers that today require a battery and periodic surgery to replace
that battery. A future energy harvester might be implanted along with
such a device and generate its own power from walking.
Read more here:
http://link.abpi.net/l.php?20080214A2
