Battery technology is constantly advancing.
Recently, according to media reports, a team led by Huang Yudong from Harbin Institute of Technology and a team led by Nicholas Kotov, a professor of engineering at the University of Michigan, demonstrated a new type of rechargeable zinc battery. Just like bio-fat stores energy, this battery can be integrated into the structure of a robot, serving as both the robot's shell and providing power to the robot.
This battery has a catchy name – “skin battery.” It is understood that for most vertebrates, adipose tissue provides support and protection for the body, and under certain conditions, it can also provide energy; this research was inspired by this concept.
This type of battery, which can provide structural support and energy at the same time, will be able to replace the reliance of some electronic devices on independent batteries and has broad application prospects in devices such as drones.
Furthermore, the new direction represented by this research—using distributed energy storage to replace traditional standalone batteries—may also become a long-term trend in the future.
Specifically, the "skin battery" adopts the zinc-air battery technology route. This battery not only has good flexibility and can be flexibly wrapped on the surface of different objects, but also solves the common crystallization and deformation problems of zinc batteries, increasing its service life to more than 100 hours.
