Wearable Solar-Powered Batteries
'Smart' clothing could turn your T-shirt into a solar power plant
Maria Galluci, October 5, 2016 (Mashable)
“Why lug around a portable battery pack when you could generate that power with your own clothing? …[New ‘smart’ fibers can] be tailored and woven like cotton — but also produce and store solar energy, like tiny clean power plants…The early-stage textile device could eventually be used for on-the-go charging of smartphones and tablet computers, according to new research in the American Chemical Society journal]. Their invention adds to a growing field of research and projects that aims to make garments more than just fabrics that keep us warm, comfortable and presentable. Several shirts are already on the market promising to measure heart rates, track fitness activities and even measure babies' sleeping patterns…The textile device combines two main components: the dye-sensitized solar cell, which generates solar energy, and a fiber supercapacitor that can charge, store and discharge the electrical energy…Woven together, the components form a cloth that can be cut, sewn and tailored to the designer's specifications — an important advantage over other types of smart textiles, which function more like one singular device and therefore are harder to shape into something you might actually wear…The material still has a long way to go before it can hit store shelves, as it must first prove to be cost-effective, energy efficient and durable…” click here for more
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