The latest development by researchers at Georgia Institute of Technology is a fabric that can simultaneously harvest energy from both sunshine and motion. By combining two types of electricity generation into one textile allowed the garments to provide their own source of energy that is strong enough to power devices such as your smart phone. Leaving the question how do they plan to commercialize this great innovation?
Well before they can introduce it to the mass market, we need to first understand how it all works. The team used a commercial textile machine to weave together solar cells constructed from lightweight polymer fibers with fiber-based triboelectric nanogenerators. Using a combination of the triboelectric effect and electrostatic induction, generated a small amount of electrical power from mechanical motion such as rotation, sliding or vibration.
Envisioning a new fabric, Zhong Lin Wang, a Regents professor in the Georgia Tech School of Materials Science and Engineering shared, “This hybrid power textile presents a novel solution to charging devices in the field from something as simple as the wind blowing on a sunny day.” Highly flexible, breathable and light weight they envision the adaptable 320 micrometers thick material to be woven into consumer products like wearable garments and household essentials like curtains.
The high point is that the fabric has a decent capability of working in a harsh environment, but the researchers are yet to reach the holy grail which is long-term durability. Once that hurdle has been jumped, commercialization of energy harvesting textiles is only a switch away. Especially with Google and Levi’s Project Jacquard also looking to create the kind of fabric that will bring about various possibilities. Wouldn’t it be great if one of these possibilities was trainers that could track your steps? The accuracy will most likely be second to none and we can wave au revoir to our wrist band fitness trackers. Although this is something we look forward to, we do understand that the fabric is still in its academic research phase, so we will have to wait that little bit longer to be able enjoy the fruits of a world were external power sources do not solely rule our tech life.
Founding editor-in-chief of FashNerd.com, Muchaneta is currently one of the leading influencers writing about the merger of fashion with technology and wearable technology. She has also given talks at Premiere Vision, Munich Fabric Start and Pure London, to name a few. Besides working as a fashion innovation consultant for various fashion companies like LVMH Atelier, Muchaneta has also contributed to Vogue Business, is a senior contributor at The Interline and an associate lecturer at London College of Fashion, UAL.
