UK researchers are developing wearable solar and thermoelectric clothing, which could be of interest to military services.
The University of Glasgow is leading the Solar Soldier project with several others around the UK.
The idea is that robust photovoltaic would generate electricity by day, while thermoelectric devices would provide power by night, harnessing the temperature differences between soldiers' bodies and the air. Both systems could be woven into clothing.
A report from Gizmag highlights the problems with the current situation, faced by armed forces across the world. With so many devices, the weight of the batteries can be a significant burden, especially in harsh conditions.
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Gizmag article
Solar soldier to take the weight off infantry soldiers
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Subscribe to +Plastic Electronics magazine
Subscribe to +Plastic Electronics magazine, published six times a year, for just £100/€110/$160. Find out more here
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Smart Fabrics 2011
Coverage of the most innovative technologies in smart textiles developments will be presented at Smart Fabrics 2011, 4-6 April at the Hotel Russell, London, UK
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Smart textile project developing washable, wearable electronics
The 'Integrating Platform for Advanced Smart Textile Applications' (PASTA) project, announced in October, is preparing stretchable and washable modules for smart textile manufacturing
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Truly smart textiles
Kunigunde Cherenack, senior research fellow at the ETH Wearable Computing Lab, who is working on the TecInTex smart textile project, explains how electronic textile concepts are becoming a reality
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