It was news to us when we got to know that bridges contain structure sensors that run on batteries, which need to be replaced regularly. But now, researchers have come up with a cool new solar-powered radio that can look after the battery recharging needs, saving us humans a lot of trouble.

A team of engineers at Kansas State University has developed working prototypes. These utilise calculator solar panels to power a NASA/KSU-developed Mars Chip radio transmitter. And this transmitter, in turn, sends a report on the bridge’s stability every five seconds in real time.

Though the work done on the project is impeccable and has generated a lot of appreciation across the world, the team has to do some more testing to find out which frequencies are most reliable through various external interferences considering other ways like thermal and mechanical energy to power the device.

Xiaohu Zhang, one of engineers involved in the development of this project, says that a similar radio technology may exist in our houses like the temperature sensor outside that radios data to a display inside. But these need a change of batteries whilst their Mars Chips radio doesn’t.

Via k-state & gizmodo