'We do research into how you can take batteries out of systems and how people deal with this,' says De Winkel. Together with researchers from the American Northwestern University, researchers from TU Delft developed a game computer that runs on the energy of the sun and that of the user. The Game Boy is an example of how Internet of Things (IoT) devices can work without batteries. 'Unfortunately, IoT devices often contain a battery that cannot be replaced, so the entire device has to be discarded.' This results in a lot of e-waste and can be made more sustainable, according to the researchers: 'Battery-free systems can run forever on energy from the environment,' explains de Winkel in the video below. As a result, products are less likely to be thrown away and last longer.
Whereas a battery constantly supplies energy, the situation is slightly different when using solar energy, for example. The Delft Game Boy, for example, works particularly well outdoors, but occasionally breaks down indoors: 'Outside you have much more energy, so more 'on' experience'. When there is too little energy, the devices pause to make calculations and continue without loss of data as soon as there is enough energy. In some cases, this works fine, but it is not yet suitable for every device. This is a challenge for the further development of battery-free devices.
Want to know more? During NWO's Innovation Festival TEKNOWLOGY on 31 May 2022 you can find Jasper de Winkel with the batteryless Game Boy at the innovation market and you can find out more about the batteryless devices of the future.
