According to a new ground-breaking study, a foldable patch of fabric wrapped around a person’s wrist can gather enough energy from arm movement to power small electronic devices. Working on the same study, scientists at the Sungkyunkwan University, South Korea have created a double-layered fabric out of silver-coated woven textile that can charge the battery of a mobile phone. Researchers say that this advancement opens the door to clothing that can charge smart watches and cellphones while the wearer moves or walks around – a niche that could become increasingly popular with the proliferation of wearable technology.
This innovative fabric relies on the triboelectric effect, which occurs when certain materials become electrically charged after coming into implosive contact with a different material. Electrons get transferred from one material to the other, causing one material to build up a positive charge, while the other gets a negative charge. These charges together can light up LEDs, small batteries and day-to-day used gadgets.
