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New polymers could enable better wearable devices
April 24th, 2023
MIT researchers developed a chemistry-based strategy to create organic iono-electronic polymers that “learn” and could improve electronic devices that interface directly with the human body. This illustration shows the proposed morphology of the polymer. Image: provided by the researchers. Certain electronics that integrate with the human body—a smartwatch that samples your sweat, for instance—work by […]
New fabric harvests and stores energy
June 14th, 2021
Bioengineers at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering and their colleagues have developed and successfully demonstrated a wearable fabric that can harvest and store solar energy from the sun. Their study, published by the journal Matter, shows a path to developing lightweight, smart clothing and wearable tech gear outfitted with unobtrusive bioelectronics sensors that can be used to […]
Thermoelectric device charges itself with body heat
May 10th, 2021
Despite the continued development and commercialization of various wearable electronic devices, such as smart bands, progress with these devices has been curbed by one major limitation: they regularly need to be recharged. However, a new technology developed by a South Korean research team shows significant potential to overcome this limitation for wearable electronic devices. The […]
PolyU develops super-elastic conductor for wearable electronics
April 12th, 2021
Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) has developed a highly permeable and super-elastic conductor that can be used for wearable electronic devices and withstand wearing for a long period of time. This novel conductor is fabricated by coating or printing liquid metal onto an electrospun elastomeric fiber mat, which offers high permeability, stretchability, conductivity and electrical […]
The expanding world of e-textiles
October 12th, 2020
IPC E-Textiles Summit covers innovations, markets and business advice. by Janet Preus A large group of presenters and attendees participated in IPC’s two-day conference on e-textiles recently, sharing insights about new technologies, the business of e-textiles, markets and trends. The textile industry, generally, has been quick to respond to industry needs throughout the course of […]
Flexible device powered by body heat
February 10th, 2020
NC State's improved theromoelectric generator demonstrates efficiency and flexibility. Photo: Mehmet Ozturk, NC State University. North Carolina State University (NCSU) engineers have demonstrated a flexible device that harvests heat energy from the human body to monitor health, according to an article provided by NCSU. The flexible thermoelectric generators (TEGs) use the body’s heat energy to power […]
Self-powered textile could be woven into smart clothes
November 18th, 2016
Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology in the U.S. and the Beijing Institute of Nanoenergy and Nanosystems in China have made the first hybrid self-charging power textile system that can harvest both solar energy and the mechanical energy from a person’s movements. These energies can then be stored as chemical energy in fiber-shaped supercapacitors. […]