Uploaded November 2024 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
Research video: youtu.be/5PEN04-jyCU
Paper PDF: figlab.com/research/2024/poweroverskin
More Info: andykong.org
Powerful computing devices are now small enough to be easily worn on the body. However, batteries pose a major design and user experience obstacle, adding weight and volume, and generally requiring periodic device removal and recharging. In response, we developed Power-over-Skin, an approach using the human body itself to deliver power to many distributed, battery-free, worn devices. We demonstrate power delivery from on-body distances as far as from head-to-toe, with sufficient energy to power microcontrollers capable of sensing and wireless communication. We share results from a study campaign that informed our implementation, as well as experiments that validate our final system. We conclude with several demonstration devices, ranging from input controllers to longitudinal bio-sensors, which highlight the efficacy and potential of our approach.
Kong, A., Kim, D. and Harrison, C. 2024. Power-over-Skin: Full-Body Wearables Powered by Intra-Body RF Energy. To appear in Proceedings of the 37th Annual ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology (October 13 –16, 2024). UIST '23. ACM, New York, NY.
Research video: youtu.be/5PEN04-jyCU
Paper PDF: figlab.com/research/2024/poweroverskin
More Info: andykong.org
Powerful computing devices are now small enough to be easily worn on the body. However, batteries pose a major design and user experience obstacle, adding weight and volume, and generally requiring periodic device removal and recharging. In response, we developed Power-over-Skin, an approach using the human body itself to deliver power to many distributed, battery-free, worn devices. We demonstrate power delivery from on-body distances as far as from head-to-toe, with sufficient energy to power microcontrollers capable of sensing and wireless communication. We share results from a study campaign that informed our implementation, as well as experiments that validate our final system. We conclude with several demonstration devices, ranging from input controllers to longitudinal bio-sensors, which highlight the efficacy and potential of our approach.
Kong, A., Kim, D. and Harrison, C. 2024. Power-over-Skin: Full-Body Wearables Powered by Intra-Body RF Energy. To appear in Proceedings of the 37th Annual ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology (October 13 –16, 2024). UIST '23. ACM, New York, NY.
