Scientists think they can use your body to wirelessly charge electronics

Wireless charging is a smartphone feature we’ve come to take for granted and expect from every high-end handset. But wireless charging tech is only in its infancy, and what we currently refer to as wireless charging is very limited. To wirelessly recharge a battery, we need particular components installed in smartphones, watches, and headphones. We then place these gadgets on a charging mat or in a case, and we can’t use them while they recharge. Wireless charging is little more than a convenience that allows us to continually top-up the smartphone’s battery while we’re not using it.

True, across-the-room, wireless charging is the kind of wireless battery charging tech we want. Several companies are already developing long-distance wireless charging. Some do so quietly, while others have already announced early technology and concept devices. We’ve seen demos of long-distance wireless charging from Chinese smartphone makers Xiaomi, Oppo, and Motorola this year, with the latter having at least a couple of different takes on the tech. But researchers from Singapore have developed an even more unusual way of charging a device wirelessly. They want to use the human body to pass power from a smartphone placed in the user’s pocket to a wearable on their wrist, or the other way around.