Energy Harvesting Moves into Wearable Electronics

Contributed by Publitek European Editors
2/15/2012

Electronic devices are increasingly being integrated into clothing and connected together. Harvesting energy from the environment is being used to power equipment, links, and even provides some fashion elements.

One exciting area of development for energy harvesting is wearable technology. More and more electronics are being integrated into clothing, either for functional or fashion reasons. For example, music players are being integrated into coats and fashion designers are using electroluminescent and LED displays, often linked to music, to create active clothing.

Much of this requires power, and being able to harness vibration, thermal or solar energy to power displays and wireless links directly or to recharge thin, light lithium polymer batteries provides a key step forward for the technology. No one wants to have to plug their shirt into the mains to recharge it, and providing that power from the environment can significantly extend the charging cycle.

 The drive to wearable electronics is also creating new approaches to the underlying technology. Space researchers at NASA have created a switching memory out of copper that can be weaved and so integrated directly into the fabric of clothing.

Figure: NASA’s memory array for wearable electronics.

Read more here: http://www.digikey.com/us/en/techzone/energy-harvesting/resources/articles/energy-harvesting-moves-into-wearable-electronics.html