Smart watch uses body heat as power source
Image: Facebook/@MatrixPowered
Modern gadgets may be useful and trendy, but they all suffer from one glaring problem, battery life. Power banks help to stave off the energy hunger, but they can only do so much.
A smart watch called the MATRIX PowerWatch X, which was introduced in the Consumer Electronics Show 2018, offers to solve this issue by using body heat as an energy source.
Created by Matrix Industries Inc., this smart watch measures its wearer’s burned calories, activity level and even the amount of electrical power being generated. It also has a step counter and sleep tracker. The white inner circle in the display shows how much real-time power the watch has.
An accompanying app would be made available soon for Android and iOS.
Image: Matrix Powerwatch official website
When not being worn, the smart watch goes into a kind of deep sleep mode to conserve battery.
Image: Facebook/@MatrixPowered
Given it’s feature set, the PowerWatch X appears to have limited functionality compared with other smart watches in the market. However, its ability to recharge via body heat may help balance it out with the others that require constant charging from an outlet in exchange for more smart phone-like features.
The PowerWatch X currently stands as the top-of-the-line model from Matrix with a 200-meter water resistance, larger display and notification function. Pre-orders are now available for $249 (around P12,500) and shipment should begin by the end of Jan. 2018.
Other methods of charging gadgets through the human body has been done before. Things such as using steps to recharge smartphones and the swing of the hand to keep mechanical watches powered. Perhaps future devices would increasingly depend on the human body to function. /ra
RELATED STORIES:
Game Boy remake showcased at CES 2018
Oculus Go VR headset to be made by Xiaomi with Snapdragon 821 processor
Virtual aide market a “wildfire” at CES gadget show
