With today’s smart phones doing more, and implementing such features as multitasking, the issue of battery life has become a big topic of conversation. The iPhone 4 has been vastly improved in managing power, and companies are always looking for innovative ways to get the most out of the limited power supply they have to work with. Environmental impacts are also a consideration in the research and development of power options. There have been wireless charging solutions, external battery packs acting as a case, solar panels and the traditional car charger.

Nokia has unveiled a concept phone that will recharge the battery by, get this, by using your own body75437-1 heat and designed to eliminate docks and cables. The prototype was designed by Patrick Hyland, a designer based in London. The phone sports a copper back that transfers the energy from body heat into a thermogenerator for storage.  The phone will utilize body heat when held in the hand or while in your pocket and can be quick charged by placing the phone on a radiator.  I can see bad things happening to some phones left on radiators for log periods of time. Nokia has also experimented with recharging phones via kinetic energy much like high end watches and time pieces.

Nokia is hoping that the new charging technology will not only make cell phone use more convenient by eliminating the continuos need to “top off” your phones battery, but also eliminate “vampire energy” from chargers being plugged in all day. Studies show that redundant chargers contribute to 13.6 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions every year.

It’s refreshing to see companies like Nokia attempting to implement technology that makes cell phone use more efficient as well as reducing our carbon footprint. If this technology proves efficient it will be interesting to see what other devices can be charged with our body heat. I would pay good money for implementation of this technology in my bluetooth earpiece, as I can’t seem to keep one of the three devices I utilize charged to full capacity.

What devices would you power with body heat?