I know I already got your attention by the title but trust me as gross as the title sounds so is this newly developed technology (for some) that some scientists at the Bristol Robotics Laboratory have come up with and yes... you can charge your mobile phone with your own urine.

A team of experts from the Bristol Robotics Laboratory, which is a collaboration between the University of the West of England and the University of Bristol, have been working on what they call their own version of the microbial fuel cell (MFC). MFCs are special type of cell that uses bacteria to break down organic material and create electricity.

A few years back when the scientists were in the initial phase of this research, experimenting with MFCs the team leader Dr. Ioannis Ieropoulos explained, "Urine is chemically very active, rich in nitrogen and has compounds such as urea, chloride, potassium and bilirubin, which make it very good for the microbial fuel cells."

The team has now made some major progress and were able to charge a Samsung handset enough to send text messages, browse the internet and make a brief phone call.

According to Dr. Ieropoulos, "So far the microbial fuel power stack that we have developed generates enough power to enable SMS messaging, web browsing and to make a brief phone call. Making a call on a mobile phone takes up the most energy but we will get to the place where we can charge a battery for longer periods. The concept has been tested and it works – it's now for us to develop and refine the process so that we can develop MFCs to fully charge a battery."

Here's a video of Dr. Ieropoulos explaining this technology:



The team is now planning to develop this technology to fully charge mobile phones and are bidding for funding so that they can work along with their partners in the US and South Africa to develop a smart toilet.

The project has already been funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, the Gates Foundation and the Technology Strategy Board.

Dr. Ieropoulos believes that the technology has the future potential to be installed into domestic bathrooms to harness the urine and produce enough electricity to power showers, lighting or razors and mobile phones.

Well, this technology sounds like a breakthrough. It's not only an easily available alternative to charging mobile phones using electricity but would also be useful while one is outdoor. So just in case your phone runs out of battery while your travelling, just visit the nearest public toilet near you and voila, your phone is all charged but for that you'll have to wait for sometime.

What do you think about this newly developed technology? If this technology is launched for public use, would you charge your phone with urine? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.

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