To meet the power needs of portable electronics, improving battery efficiency is vital. Researchers from MIT and Texas Instruments are working on prolonging battery life through the development of a highly efficient microchip. The new approach reduces the required energy by up to ten times compared with current chips. The key is to build a chip with circuits that work at much lower voltage levels than usualabout 0.3 volt instead of the standard 1 volt. MIT electrical engineering professor Anantha Chandrakasan, a lead collaborator, envisions implantable medical devices powered solely by body heat or movements. "Anything that's portable and battery-operated could use this technology to increase energy efficiency," he says.