Smart Cloth - a wearable system powered entirely by body heat

电力可以利用我们周围未开发的自然热资源，从废热中提供低碳可再生能源，为实现净零做出贡献。我们自己的身体是为低功率物联网设备提供动力的理想能源，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。可以使用热电发电机将温度梯度转换为能量。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，从而减轻电池的负担，因为电池消耗稀有材料，通常最终会被送到垃圾填埋场。永远不需要充电的身体供电智能手表和远程部署时调节士兵体温的智能夹克都可以实现。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式能源收割机，它克服了太阳能的限制，需要光照，以及依赖连续移动的收割机。利用一分子层厚的优质材料，即所谓的2D材料，我们的目标是创造一种新的能量收集概念，将人体热量转化为能量，以织物的形式，创造一种改变世界的“智能布料”。这种可调整的电子纺织品形式可以适应服装、医疗、健康、国防、健身和休闲行业的大量可穿戴系统。

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.