Self-Powering Spacesuits Charged by Motion

Readers of Frank Herbert's Dune series will recall the garb used by the desert world's natives to preserve body fluids: complex "stillsuits" that store waste and recycle it using the power generated by the wearer's movements. Cambridge scientists have had a similar idea for their "power skin" spacesuits, except the target of conservation here is energy itself.

"Astronauts' spacesuits may one day be covered in motion-sensitive proteins that could generate power from the astronauts' movement ... All space missions grapple with the issue of how to produce enough power to complete their goals while minimising the weight of batteries and solar arrays."

The strange an ingenious part is that they harness a protein found in the human ear that's known to convert electrical voltage into motion. By reversing its biological process, they can generate tiny charges (literally nanowatts), which collectively produce enough energy to power batteries or small devices.

It wont be be a free ride, but the idea is that mother nature's own solutions are far more efficient than just slapping in some servos and turbines. The Fremen would surely be impressed.

Motion-sensitive spacesuits could generate power [NewScientistSpace]