Details of this technology can be found in our official press release here: http://www.bristol.ac.uk/news/2016/november/diamond-power.html.
Despite the low power of the batteries (relative to current technologies), they could have an exceptionally long lifespan, taking 5730 years to reach 50% battery power. Because of this, Professor Tom Scott explains:
“We envision these batteries to be used in situations where it is not feasible to charge or replace conventional batteries. Obvious applications would be in low-power electrical devices where long life of the energy source is needed, such as pacemakers, satellites, high-altitude drones or even spacecraft.
“There are so many possible uses that we’re asking the public to come up with suggestions of how they would utilise this technology by using #diamondbattery.”
Since making the invitation, we have been overwhelmed by the number of amazing ideas you’ve been sharing on Facebook, Twitter and by email. In this blog, we take a brief look at some of the top suggestions to date, and offer some further information on what may and may not be possible.
10 of our favourite ideas (in no particular order!)
Medical devices
From ocular implants to pacemakers, and from insulin pumps to nanobots, it’s clear that there is a great deal of potential to make a difference to people’s lives in the medical field. Many devices must be implanted within the body, meaning long battery life is essential to minimise the need for replacements and distress to patients.
Thanks @BristolUni for #diamondbattery, could be used to power Nano Injectables to transmit bodymetrics https://t.co/7ZiA9DbXAq— Ron González Lobo (@rongonzalezlobo) November 28, 2016
professionals or miners.
Military/divers/police/miners/explorers suits/uniforms with vitals monitoring; powered by the Db. #diamondbattery— TealSkys (@TealSkys) November 28, 2016
#diamondbattery What if the coating makes it safe for direct human contact: pacemakers, hearing aids, ICDs, DBS, etc.— Julian (@JulianSpahr) November 28, 2016
GPS trackers or Geo-markers
GPS trackers are rating highly so far, and could offer an opportunity for us to keep tabs on pets or valuable items without worrying about device batteries running out of charge. Implantable devices using a #diamondbattery would not need to be replaced, minimising discomfort to tracked animals. Indeed, @Boomersaurus suggests we could also use these for tagging animals in wildlife studies.
Since they seem to be pretty safe, how about #diamondbattery for tagging animals for wildlife studies?— Boomersaurus (@Boomersaurus) November 29, 2016
The #diamondbattery could be used to make permanent electronic time capsules or geomarkers.— Josh Hanke (@xX5UN5H1N3Xx) November 29, 2016
The Internet of Things
A major concern surrounding the new wave of ‘Internet of Things’ (IoT) technologies is the amount of power they might consume. IoT devices require a constant stream of power to transmit over wireless frequencies which could cause issues as these proliferate.
#diamondbattery Make this the default power source of each and every IoT device. Built-in to the IoT core chip or soldered on the board.— CIMCloudOne (@CIMCloudOne) November 29, 2016
Safety and security
A number of you suggested that the #diamondbattery could be extremely useful in smoke detectors.
The US National Fire Protection Association states that 21% of home fire deaths resulted from fires in homes with no working smoke alarms, where around 46% of the alarms had missing or disconnected batteries. Dead batteries caused one-quarter (24%) of the smoke alarm failures.
Stop smoke detectors from losing battery power at ungodly hours of the night #diamondbattery— StarHopper Games (@StarhopperGames) November 29, 2016
Black boxes for planes that never stop transmitting their position #diamondbattery— Ian Bacchus (@idbacchus) November 28, 2016
Remote sensing
Many corners of our planet are far from civilisation and are inaccessible, complex environments. If we are to study the seas, or mountains (or indeed, space) effectively over long periods, low-powered devices with long-life batteries are required.
I would use the #diamondbattery for deep-sea equipment to constantly monitor the environment #innovation @BristolUni— Leah Robertson (@robertsonleah10) November 28, 2016
Imagine exploring the deep ocean for thousands of years with the #diamondbattery to fuel your subsea drones! https://t.co/UrWXrelKOQ— Maritime Murph (@GregMurphy_SD) November 29, 2016
Seismology and building resilience
Seismic sensors that are located underground could help us to detect early warnings for earthquake risk.
Why not use #diamondbattery for seismic sensors?— RealNameSure (@RestlessDraugr) November 29, 2016
Mechanical bees
Whilst this is possibly the most futuristic of all the suggestions, we felt that it warranted a mention for innovation! @TheSteveKoch suggests a low-power #diamond battery might be able to power mechanical bees in the future.
Mechanical bees might be a good use case for #diamondbattery— Steve Koch (@TheSteveKoch) November 29, 2016
Watches
It’s often impossible to know when a watch battery is about to run out, and when it does, it can feel disastrous to the owner. Perhaps a #diamondbattery watch could help people around the world avoid those missed appoints and trains in the future.
#diamondbattery Is there the potential to power watches as a fair amount of waste is generated from depleted watch batteries each year.— Richard Merrett (@Merrett72) November 28, 2016
Space exploration
Of course, when we send devices out into space we need to know that they have sufficient battery life and sufficient levels of resilience to maintain operations for long periods. @johnconroy and others noted the opportunities for space probes and radio transmitters on the moon:
#diamondbattery sounds great. Could be used for deep space probes like Voyager to keep transmitting when in deep space— johnconroy (@johnconroy) November 29, 2016
Bringing the internet to new areas
Finally, whilst it’s currently unclear what the power requirements would be for this idea, deployment of low power UAVs in remote areas to deliver free internet sounds like a highly worthwhile cause.
Simply wow! #DiamondBattery can be highly efficient in powering low altitude network UAV to beam out free Internet in remote areas 🙌 https://t.co/ttSml5Zh8Y— Rizwan Siddiquee (@BinaryGru) November 29, 2016
@cabotinstitute or @UoBrisIAC with the hashtag ‘#diamondbattery’.