Department of Applied Physics and Materials Science - Materials Science

New Device Powers Wearable Sensors Through Human Motion

October 16, 2020

Wei Gao, Assistant Professor of Medical Engineering, has been developing sensors as well as novel approaches to power them. Previously, he created a sensor that could monitor health indicators in human sweat that is powered by sweat itself. Now, Gao has developed a new way to power wireless wearable sensors: He harvests kinetic energy that is produced by a person as they move around. "Instead of using fancy materials, we use commercially available flexible circuit boards," he says. "This material is cheap and very durable and mechanically robust over long periods of time." [Caltech story]

Professor Wei Gao

Professor Wei Gao

Tags: APhMS research highlights MedE KNI Wei Gao