Scientists have developed virus-powered electrical chargers capable of harnessing energy from footsteps, a milestone in the continuing advancement of green mobile technology.

 

The stamp-sized generator, created in Berkeley Labs, relies on the piezoelectric M13 virus to produce electrical charge when pressed. Fitted to shoe soles, it may one day allow users to power mobile electronics as they walk.
 

The key to improvements lies in modifying the harmless virus, whose rapid reproduction and natural orderliness make it ideal for bioengineering. But M13 is not alone in its power-producing capabilities, as researchers around the world are demonstrating in their rush to develop green mobile charging technology.
 

Last week, 24-year-old Anthony Mutua of Kenya announced a shoe-powered cell phone charger that also generates electricity under pressure. Mutua's $46 device, slated for mass production, relies on a thin crystal chip to extract power from footfalls.
 

InStep NanoPower, a company created by University of Wisconsin students Tom Krupenkin and Ashley Taylor, is also joining the race, seeking to market thermodynamically powered "in-shoe" technology by 2013.
 

Besides using chip-fitted shoes to charge cell phones, scientists are developing clothing and exercise machines that can extract electricity from human movement.
 

The U.S. military is working to develop movement-sensitive e-textile fabric for its soldiers that will allow them to charge mobile devices in the field without cumbersome cords and wires.
 

Even concert-goers can benefit from such technology, using piezoelectric shirt pockets to harness vibrations from drums and guitars to charge cell phones.
 

And German-made Silverback "Starke" bicycles, along with treadmills at England's Green Heart Gym, now use movement-generated energy to power portable batteries and LED lights.
 

Developments like these herald a new era in mobile technology. Movement-powered cell phones will likely reduce the need for fossil fuel-based electricity, resulting in less environmental pollution as well as promoting human health with increased exercise.
 

Furthermore, in today's gadget-centric world, green charging technology may enable users to stay even more digitally connected than they are now. This development would certainly benefit the entire mobile market, which may see higher profits as a result of their products' ability to organically keep a charge.
 

Currently, the prototype virus-powered device produces one-fourth the voltage of a triple A battery, only enough to run a small LCD. As Berkeley scientist Seung-Wuk Lee joked, "Do not expect this virus-based device to run your water heating unit."
 

But Lee, along with Byung Yang Lee and Ramamoorthy Ramesh, are still experimenting in hopes that the virus-coated generator will revolutionize the mobile industry.
 

"Because the tools of biotechnology enable large-scale production of genetically modified viruses, piezoelectric materials based on viruses could offer a simple route to novel microelectronics in the future," Lee predicted.