Sristi Raj Rai, Amity University Kolkata
Energy is a transferable property of a body that can neither be created nor destroyed. It is the energy that is required to carry out any kind of work and has various forms (potential, kinetic, thermal, electrical, chemical, biological, etc).
Keeping the transferable property in mind, nano engineers from the University of California San Diego have reported in Nature Communications on March 9, 2021, how to convert biological energy to power electronic devices embedded in a suit.
They have developed a self-sustainable wearable, washable (without detergent), and flexible gear that harvests biological energy and stores them to power the embedded microgrid system on the e-textile. The grid system build at a micro level has a multiple module set-up and solely relies on human activities. The electronic gadgets developed by the nanoelectronic team are screen printed on the shirt and comprises of:–
| Parts | Use(s) | Position on shirt | Body part(s) targeted | Mechanism | Type of power generated |
| Sweat-based biofuel cells | Converts biochemical energy from sweat. | Inside | Chest | Biofuel contains enzymes that transfer electron b/w lactate & O2 present in human sweat. | Continuous low voltage |
| Motion-based triboelectric generators | Converts biomechanical energy from swinging motion while walking/running. | Outside | Forearms & sides of the torso (near waist) | The negatively charged material is placed on the forearm and the positive one is on the waist. As one walks the arms rub against the material to generate electricity. | Pulsed high voltage |
| Supercapacitors | Harvests the energy and regulates the power output to electronic parts. | Outside | Chest | – | – |
| *First two parts complement each other and work in collaboration to generate fast power. |
The individual parts are interconnected with insulated waterproof silver that is printed on the shirt. Once the gear was manufactured completely, it was tried on subjects. The person had to undergo a 30 min session. The session was divided into two halves, 10 min workout followed by 20 min rest. In the first half, the person had to either exercise or cycle or run.
Motion generators are the first ones to start working as soon as one puts on the suit and starts to move. The power generated can easily power small LCDs or electrochromic displays (changes colour when voltage is applied) without any interruptions. The material is most useful for athletic purposes or while exercising. In the future, they can utilize various energy harvesters and can modify the suit for other purposes (like office settings where slow movements are prominent) as well.
Also read: Human Cerebral Organoids Test for CJD Treatment
SOURCE – “A Self-Sustainable Wearable Multi-Modular E-Textile Bioenergy Microgrid System” by Lu Yin, Kyeong Nam Kim, Jian Lv, Farshad Tehrani, Muyang Lin, Zuzeng Lin, Jong-Min Moon, Jessica Ma, Jialu Yu, and Sheng Xu, 9 March 2021, Nature Communications.DOI: http://10.1038/s41467-021-21701-7
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