The microsystem is constructed from a novel type of electronics that can process ultralow electronic signals and incorporates a novel device that can generate electricity “out of thin air” from the ambient environment.
The groundbreaking research was published on June 7, 2021, in the journal Nature Communications.Both of the key components of the microsystem are made from protein nanowires, a “green” electronic material that is renewably produced from microbes without producing “e-waste.” The research heralds the potential of future green electronics made from sustainable biomaterials that are more amenable to interacting with the human body and diverse environments.Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Army Research Laboratory, which is funding the research.
The project represents a continuing evolution of recent research by the team.Previously, the research team discovered that electricity can be generated from the ambient environment/humidity with a protein-nanowire-based Air Generator (or ‘Air-Gen’), a device which continuously produces electricity in almost all environments found on Earth. The Air-Gen invention was reported in Nature in 2020.
Also in 2020, Yao’s lab reported in Nature Communications that the protein nanowires can be used to construct electronic devices called memristors that can mimic brain computation and work with ultralow electrical signals that match the biological signal amplitudes.Now the electronic microsystem can get energy from the environment to support sensing and computation without the need of an external energy source (e.g. battery).
Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Army Research Laboratory.
“The team from UMass has demonstrated the use of artificial neurons in computation. It is particularly exciting that the protein nanowire memristors show stability in aqueous environment and are amenable to further functionalization.
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