New 'magnetoelastic' tent generates electricity from wind, body movement and sound to power small devices

A red tent glows with internal light in the middle of a dark forest.

Researchers have developed a tent that harvests energy from its own motion ‪—‬ a process that could one day power small devices in shelters, disaster zones and off-grid camps.

The key lies in a material property known as "magnetoelasticity," which turns bending and stretching motion into electrical energy. Magnetoelasticity, first described in 1865 by physicist Emilio Villari, is the change in a material's magnetic flux density when mechanical stress is applied in the presence of an external magnetic field.