Bionic Power is a privately held company that was spun out from Simon Fraser University in 2008.

Bionic Power enables recharging of batteries by harvesting power from walking without metabolic effort. The company has been developing the product with support and funding from the Canadian military and the US Army.

Bionic Power is currently in the final phases of assembling units that will be used for validation tests by the US Army and/or their labs. These tests will take place in approximately two months. After these tests, the US Army is expected to extend the support and funding to further develop the technology until deployment.

A defence customer believes that in the future, the dismounted soldier capabilities will continually be modernized with advanced sensors, networking and processing technologies, all of which require power. While many of these new capabilities will possess advanced low power electronics and power management features, the need for innovative power source solutions for the dismounted soldiers and small combat units will remain an essential aspect of the army’s current and future soldier programs. Emerging operational concepts dictate the need for technology to support extended missions without the benefit of re-supply for 72 hours or longer.

Bionic Power has been told that personal energy harvesters have enormous potential, particularly over long duration missions, by being able to provide continuous, on the move recharge and on-soldier backup electrical power generation. The advantage that energy harvesting systems have is a higher weight and lower power density than the conventional power sources while still being competitive with stored energy systems during longer missions.

Once the Defence product is near completion, Bionic Power will take the core technology and develop a product for other professionals that use mobile technology. Other professionals include: forest fire fighters, first responders after major emergencies, geologists, surveyors, border patrol, and other researchers collecting data using electronic devices.