The days of having to carry a phone charger everywhere could soon be over.
随身携带手机充电器的日子可能即将过去。
Michigan researchers have revealed a major breakthrough in harvesting energy from human motion.
密歇根的研究人员取得了一项重大突破, 可从人体动作中收集能量。
They say it could lead to smartphones powered for a week by the motion of a swipe being harvested.
研究人员称，从刷手机这一动作中获取的能量足以供智能手机续航一周。
Michigan State University's low-cost device, known as a nanogenerator, has already been tested.
密歇根州立大学的这款低成本设备，即纳米发电器，已通过测试。
Scientists successfully operated an LCD touch screen, a bank of 20 LED lights and a flexible keyboard, all with a simple touching or pressing motion and without the aid of a battery.
通过简单的触摸或按压，无需电池辅助，科学家们成功地在液晶触摸屏、一排20盏LED灯以及软键盘上完成操作。
The groundbreaking findings, published in the journal Nano Energy, suggest 'we're on the path toward wearable devices powered by human motion,' said Nelson Sepulveda, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering and lead investigator of the project.
密歇根大学电气和计算机工程系副教授及该项目的首席研究员纳尔逊 • 塞普尔韦达表示，这项突破性的发现，表明“我们正在向人体动作为可穿戴设备供电的研究方向发展”，这项发现已在《纳米能源》期刊上发表。
'What I foresee, relatively soon, is the capability of not having to charge your cell phone for an entire week, for example, because that energy will be produced by your movement,' said Sepulveda, whose research is funded by the National Science Foundation.
塞普尔韦达说道：“我预测在不久以后，整整一周都不用为手机充电，只需做一些动作就可为手机供电。”他的这项研究得到了美国国家科学基金会的资助。
The process starts with a silicone wafer, which is then fabricated with several layers, or thin sheets, of environmentally friendly substances including silver, polyimide and polypropylene ferroelectret.
充电过程始于一块硅晶片，其被多层或薄薄的环保材料包裹，包括银、聚酰亚胺和聚丙烯铁电驻极体等。
Ions are added so that each layer in the device contains charged particles.
此外，离子的添加使设备的每一层都含有带电粒子。
Electrical energy is created when the device is compressed by human motion, or mechanical energy.
当设备被按压时，电能或机械能就随之产生。
The completed device is called a biocompatible ferroelectret nanogenerator, or FENG, and is as thin as a sheet of paper.
该研究成品被称为生物可容性铁电纳米发电器，简称FENG，就如一张纸那样薄。
The device used to power the LED lights was palm-sized, for example, while the device used to power the touch screen was as small as a finger.
向LED灯供电的设备如手掌大小，而向触摸屏供电的设备只有手指大小。
Advantages such as being lightweight, flexible, biocompatible, scalable, low-cost and robust could make FENG 'a promising and alternative method in the field of mechanical-energy harvesting' for many autonomous electronics such as wireless headsets, cell phones and other touch-screen devices, the study says.
研究表明，FENG设备具有轻便灵活、生物相容性、可扩展、低成本、结实耐用等优点，这些优点使FENG设备在机械能收集领域前景广阔，成为一种替代方法。机械能收集主要针对很多自动电子产品，诸如无线耳机，手机和其他触屏设备等。
The device also becomes more powerful when folded.
当设备被折叠时，能够提供更多电量。
'Each time you fold it you are increasing exponentially the amount of voltage you are creating,' Sepulveda said.
塞普尔韦达说道: “每次当你将设备折叠时，其产生的电压量将呈几何级数增长。”
'You can start with a large device, but when you fold it once, and again, and again, it's now much smaller and has more energy.
“你可以首先在较大的设备上操作，但若你将它不断地折叠，随着它越来越小，所提供的能量却越来越多。”
'Now it may be small enough to put in a specially made heel of your shoe so it creates power each time your heel strikes the ground.'
“它可能小到足以放进你的特制鞋跟里，这样一来，你每走一步都会产生电能。”
Sepulveda and his team are also developing technology that would transmit the power generated from the heel strike to, say, a wireless headset.
塞普尔韦达和他的团队正在研发将鞋跟触地产生的电能传输到无线耳机的技术。