Smart Cloth - a wearable system powered entirely by body heat

电力可以利用我们周围尚未开发的自然热资源，从废热中提供低碳可再生能源，为净零做出贡献。我们自己的身体是为低功耗物联网设备供电的理想能源，例如健身跟踪器和医疗传感器，据估计，到2030年，这些设备的数量将超过1250亿，所有这些设备都需要电力。将温度梯度转换成能量可以使用热电发电机来完成。当扩展到薄膜时，这些发电机可以变得灵活，因此非常适合集成到可穿戴系统中，作为不间断的连续电源，从而减少消耗稀有材料的电池的负担，并且通常最终被填埋。不需要充电的身体供电智能手表和在远程部署时调节士兵体温的智能夹克可能会实现。然而，到目前为止，能量收集领域还没有展示出任何灵活的可穿戴能量收集器，可以克服太阳能的限制，需要光照，以及依赖于连续运动的收集器。利用一个分子层厚的上级材料，即2D材料，我们的目标是创造一种新的能量收集概念，将身体热量转化为电能，以织物的形式，创造一个改变世界的“智能服装”。这种可适应的电子纺织品形式可以适应服装，医疗，健康，国防，健身和休闲领域的大量可穿戴系统。

Power can be harnessed from untapped natural thermal resources that surround us everywhere, providing low-carbon renewable energy from waste heat, contributing towards NET ZERO. Our own bodies are an ideal energy source for powering low-power internet-of-things devices, such as fitness trackers and medical sensors, which are estimated to reach over 125 billion in number by 2030, all of which will require power. Converting temperature gradients into energy can be done using thermoelectric generators. When scaled to thin films, these generators can be made flexible, and therefore are ideal for integrating into wearable systems as uninterrupted continuous power supplies thus reducing the burden of batteries that consume rare materials and often end up in landfill. Body-powered smartwatches that never require charging and intelligent jackets that regulate soldier's body temperatures on remote deployments could be realised. However, to date, the energy harvesting field has failed to demonstrate any flexible wearable energy harvester that overcomes the limitations of solar, requiring light exposure, and harvesters that rely on continuous movement. Utilising superior materials that are one-molecular layer thick, known as 2D materials, we aim to create a new energy harvesting concept that converts body heat into power, in a fabric form, creating a world-changing 'Smart Cloth'. This adaptable e-textile form can be adapted to a plethora of wearable systems across the clothing, medical, health, defence, fitness and leisure sectors.