Powered Clothing?

These New Flexible Batteries Can Be Printed Directly on to Textiles

Posted: 15 Aug 2017 09:00 AM PDT

Researchers are working on flexible batteries that can be printed directly on to fabric. Their research was motivated by the problem of how to power wearable devices. The small gadgets often need significant power sources, but cumbersome battery packs are not an option. The new technique allows the person to literally wear flexible batteries that will power their device.

Nazmul Karim, Knowledge Exchange Fellow at the University of Manchester, who co-authored the research paper on the battery technology says, “It will open up possibilities of making an environmentally friendly and cost-effective smart e-textile that can store energy and monitor human activity and physiological condition at the same time.”

[Image Source: The University of Manchester]

Generally, wearables rely on devices known as supercapacitors to give them charge, supercapacitors act like a battery but also allow for rapid charging that can fully power devices in seconds.

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