Mayur Dombale

Clothes and smart phones are two things that, an individual in any part of the world caries every single day. What better if clothes can be turned into power generators ?.Many researches and textile designer are working to live up to this Eureka moment and implement different means to generate power. Due to this, today we have more than one path breaking technology, which can help to make this incredible concept, a possible reality. One way of developing this idea is by harvesting mechanical energy of an individual. These are two ways in which energy can be scavenged from human body: one is kinetic and other is thermal. Kinetic energy sources power derived from various activities like breathing, walking, running and all kinds of physical movements. The mechanical energy is converted into electrical energy with help of piezoelectric materials. These are efficient way to capture vibration energy. They are either made of ceramics or polymer. The concept of using piezoelectric is already being used in walkways, where the energy from footsteps of people, can be harvested for generating power. Maximum energy generated by an average human body of 67 Watt, can be derived from human footsteps. Thermal energy derives power from body heat that can generate 2-4-4.8 Watts of energy. Human bodies release heat into the atmosphere even through non-physical activities for example when food is getting digested. Thermoelectric technology captures this wasted energy to create power. Thermal sensors are used to with generate power from a temperature difference. However, the latest and most recent advancement, are harnessing solar energy to make clothes self- generators of power. Solar fabrics for innovations, involve creating clothes by two methods. One is printing solar cells on to clothes directly and the other is weaving solar technology into the fabrics. The printing techniques enable printing of photovoltaic cells on a fabric, which look like a series of colored sm all rectangles. photovoltaic harvesting makes the process completely and thoroughly wireless. The use of Dye Sensitized Solar Cells(DSSC) has alleviated the functioning of clothes as power systems to altogether a new level. Another group of researchers have gone a step ahead and developed a technology that uses photovoltaic and photoelectric materials to develop garments, which can charge phones and music players. This hybrid between the two will let the weaver be equipped with power even on days when the sun is not shining, by using wind or rain energy. All these technologies use either batteries or tiny capacitors to store and source power form. The idea of charging your phone through not just power charged clothes but also in sustainable way may seem very ideal. But there are a few obstacles that these technologies need to overcome successfully. The clothes developed with any of these technologies must be washable, wearable, flexible, comfortable, able to withstand wear and tear, skin- friendly able to stay harmless to the body and at the same time affordable. Once all of it is achieved, clothes will definitely turn into power generators. Hence, with clothes soon setting multifunctional, charging cell phones, music players and other electronic devices with chargers will soon become thing of the past. Electronic devices are being designated in a way that save battery, scavenging energy from human body and solar energy and integrating it into wearable technology will also address the environmental issues. The independence of having steady power supply and charging, all done from the clothes are on individual is wearing, are undoubtedly going to be the future of textiles.