This little computer is powered by algae.

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(Pocket-lint) Scientists are constantly working on new ways to operate our technology in an environmentally friendly manner. Battery technology is constantly evolving and the future of energy is certainly exciting. We already have many solar, wind and wave energy solutions, but have you ever seen the electricity produced by algae?

At the University of Cambridge, scientists have worked on exciting new techniques for powering organs through the process of photosynthesis. The New World reminds that Chris Howe He and his colleagues succeeded in making a microcomputer enclosed in a metal case the size of an AA battery sealed with blue-green algae. This algae is photovoltaic, meaning the tiny device can generate enough electricity to power the ARM Cortex-M0+ chip inside.

Then the case was placed on the windowsill of the researcher’s house Paul Bombelli Long respite and I stayed there six months. During this period, he conducted cycles where he calculated various sums in order to simulate the workload of a computer.

Sitting there, he was able to generate enough electricity to power himself for six months, without blackouts during that time. Even after the experiment ended, she continued to produce energy.

It should be noted that the internal chip only needs 0.3 microwatts per hour to operate. So don’t expect to see your gaming PC powered by algae anytime soon. However, this is just a proof of concept at the moment and could certainly hold an interesting future for IoT devices, possibly for power generation in general.

Professor Christober Howe said: “The rapidly expanding Internet of Things needs an ever increasing amount of energy, and we believe it should come from systems that can generate it, rather than store it. Just like batteries… our photosynthetic apparatus does not run out like a battery, because it uses Light is constantly being used as a source of energy.”

According to Professor HoweWe won’t be replacing solar panels with algae panels in the near future:

“Placing one on your roof will not provide power to your home at this point. There is still a lot to do in this area. But [cela pourrait fonctionner] In rural areas of low- and middle-income countries, for example, in applications where a small amount of energy can be most useful, such as environmental sensors or charging for cell phones.”

Written by Adrian Wellings.