Biofuel cells draw on sweat to power wearables

The team, led by Associate Professor Isao Shitanda from Tokyo University of Science, has presented a novel design for a biofuel cell array that generates enough power to drive a biosensor and wireless communication devices for a short time. The study, published in the Journal of Power Sources, was carried out with with Dr. Seiya Tsujimura from University of Tsukuba, Dr. Tsutomu Mikawa from RIKEN, and Dr. Hiroyuki Matsui from Yamagata University.

Human sweat-powered e-skin points to future robotics

Wearable wrist device tracks metabolites via sweat

Their new biofuel cell array consists of a water-repellent paper substrate onto which multiple biofuel cells are laid out in series and in parallel; the number of cells depends on the output voltage and power required. In each cell, electrochemical reactions between lactate – a chemical found in sweat - and an enzyme present in the electrodes produce an electric current.