How could a mammalian body provide substantial electrical power through non-harmful, "passive" means?

I've seen some articles about biologically powering devices through a glucose fuel cell, but from what I can tell this would only provide power on the order of a few tenths of a watt.

While it's definitely an interesting scientific development, it probably wouldn't be ideal for powering something like a sixth-generation Intel i5/i7 NUC computer, which can draw between 38 and 77 watts under high load and approximately 17 watts when idling.

That being said, suppose there is a near-futuristic race of mammalians that have a computer of similar caliber implanted in their bodies. Consider that:

• The power source shouldn't be implicitly fatal for the host to use - burning things or producing excessive amounts of ionizing radiation might be out of the question, for instance, but inadvertently decreasing blood glucose levels and triggering hypoglycemia due to starvation would be OK.
• The power source would have to fit inside/against the body - something that's heavy/bulky enough to limit mobility wouldn't work.
• The environment (insofar as available resources, atmosphere, etc.) is Earth-like.
• The mammalians in question are intelligent enough to maintain the power source and computer themselves (to a reasonable extent - they're not Leonid Rogozov)
• The computer itself is the only thing that needs power - there won't be any high-draw devices needing power as well, for example.
• The amount of computational power required would eschew using low-power devices like the Raspberry Pi and the CPU type(s) available in most cell-phones.
• The power source would not require direct interaction from the host while in use. (Pedaling a stationary bike would not be feasible, but drawing power through piezoelectric foot implants would.)
• The power source would not necessarily need to be biological/evolutionary in its own right, so long that it is biologically compatible (i.e. titanium implant)

Would it be feasible to power these computers through biological, self-sustaining means? How might this power source affect the host?

Thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

posted almost 8 years ago

Shard Wolf‭

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