New Microchip Technology Harnesses Changes in Body Temperature to Keep Your Cellphone Charged...for 10 Years

Most smartphones today can run on their batteries for several hours, depending on how much they're used, But what if you never had to charge your smartphone again?

That's what San-Jose, California-based company Atmel is hoping to accomplish with its new microchip technology. To reach its goal, however, the company is relying heavily on none other than the hand that's holding the smartphone.

(Image: Shutterstock.com)

You read that right. Your body, or more accurately, your body heat, could help give your phone a boost. And if all goes according to plan, your smartphone battery could last up to 10 years, ArsTechnica reported.

The company says a simple microchip, called the SAM L21 32-bit ARM family of micro controller, or MCU, is could add years to your charge by requiring an extremely low amount of power by having different parts of the device work together to complete the tasks users assign.

In addition, the chip can also detect changes in your body temperature temperature that it can then harvest for an even longer battery life.

The product was introduced and explained by Andreas Eieland of Atmel at this year's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Listen to how he explained:

As ArsTechnica reported, the energy isn't enough to power an entire desktop computer. It can only complete smaller tasks like streaming media and switching between apps on your handheld device.

Atmel also suggested the technology could extend far beyond just smartphones and tablets. The chips could also be installed in a range of items that use relatively little power like fire alarms and some medical devices, according to the Daily Mail.

(H/T: Daily Mail)