MbShea@PWP@English@UMCP

Abstract: Team PIEZO will address the increasing demands on smartphone batteries by creating a touchscreen that integrates piezoelectric materials to sense touch location and generate energy for the battery. The screen will be designed as a grid of separately mounted piezoelectric films to extract a current when touched. A circuit will sense the location of the activated piezoelectric film and deliver power to the battery. Phone usage data will be collected with surveys and will be compared to power output of the touchscreen system to determine if a sufficient amount of energy can be retrieved. As piezoelectric research continues to improve, the technology can be implemented into various applications to convert wasted energy into useable electricity.
WC=115

Reader's Profile: A technical specialist who discounts the viability of piezoelectrics as an energy source. They would argue it is too expensive for the amount of energy it generates because the cost of charging a smartphone is under a dollar for the year. It may also reduce touchscreen accuracy. It could damage the battery if it is over-charged.

Reader's Response: Oh, I now realize that the piezoelectrics wouldn't serve as the main source of energy. It is just there to serve as a way to add supplemental green power to extend the life and to offer a way to have a charged phone in an emergency situation. I see that this is not the final product but is a good step toward solving the energy issue, which discounts my focus on the lack of saving money with this type of energy. The acuracy will not be compromised so long as the number of tiles is large enough such that the area of one tile is many times smaller than the surface area of a finger tip. Lithium-ion batteries do not have this over-charging problem. Besides, the energy created would almost never be applied quickly enough to push the limit past 100%.

I like that your skeptical reader is also reasonable. Is one way around this to not try to incorporate into a phone but try this concept on a foldable fabric surface? Phone could be wrapped or rubbed? Just a goofy thought of mine.....