A group of researchers at the City College of New York are working on a system that generate electricity for cars and planes based on materials known as piezoelectrics.

Piezoelectrics basically convert the kinetic energy of motion into electricity, but it doesn’t completely replace the car’s battery, it will be used as a supplement for the car. Meaning, the dashboard, radio, mobile phones, and any other small batteries used for small devices.

The device is about a half-inch by one inch in size, and could be placed on the roof of the car or on an airplane fuselage where they would vibrate inside a flow, producing an output voltage.

professor Yiannis Andreopoulos, the research leader said that they are currently testing what is the best position for the device, roof of the car or on the back of a truck.

“These devices open the possibility to continuously scavenge otherwise wasted energy from the environment,” says Andreopoulos.

hey will present their concept later this month at the 62nd Annual Meeting of the American Physical Society’s (APS) Division of Fluid Dynamics will take place from November 22-24 at the Minneapolis Convention Center.

Via – EurekAlert