Researchers Developing T-Shirt That Will Power Your Phone

A team of nanoengineers at the University of California San Diego is developing a long-sleeved shirt that can be used to power small electronics, Tech Xplore writes.

The researchers are calling it a “wearable microgrid.” The shirt harvests energy from the human body that is then stored while the wearer is moving or exercising, the article explains. It can even be washed, though not with detergent.

All parts of the shirt are flexible, washable, and can be screen printed onto clothing. The researchers’ goal is to refine the technology to the point that electronic devices like our smartphones no longer need to rely on the electric grid.

Lu Yin, a nanoengineering Ph.D. student at the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering, told the outlet: “What we want to achieve in the end is to have a system where you don’t need to think about charging anymore. I think mainly the (research and development) still lies on how to perfect the energy harvesting part. What we demonstrated is energy harvesting up to a few hundred microwatts. We want that to be increased, maybe tenfold, and we’re getting there.”

Read more at Tech Xplore.