The Solar Aviator

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The Solar Aviator project seeks to demonstrate a lightweight solution to develop light-powered and wireless electronic devices used by defence personnel for communication and data acquisition. The Royal Airforce require an ongoing energy source for ground troops who secure and protect airfields. Such operations require ground troops to carry a lot of heavy kit. Additionally, where personnel are in the field and battery energy sources run out, light weight solar energy sources would help maintain contact on operations such as an evacuation. We have developed a solution to this operational need: printable solar cells which can be deposited on fabric, plastic, or foil for integration into portable electronic devices or wearable technology under various light conditions. This project exploits recent results proving that the power generated under ambient light by a high efficiency photovoltaics with the area equivalent to a mobile phone can power sensors and IoT devices. We now propose a wearable self-powered communication technology.