A composite wearable technology for charging batteries

用于便携式电子设备的电力通常存储在电池中。如果需要大量的电池，这些电池会变得笨重。军事人员通常在72小时的使命中携带16-20磅的电池。为了解决这个问题，Bionic Power Inc.开发了一种新型的仿生发电系统，当用户行走时产生电力。本研究项目的重点是调查混合过程的潜在用途，以制造仿生发电设备的轻质部件。仿生电源公司目前的制造工艺大约需要一天的时间来制造外壳，另一天的时间来将内部结构粘合到外壳上。他们的产品需要在外壳中使用长股芳纶纤维（凯夫拉），并在电气硬件上使用带有安装点的加强结构。通过混合制造工艺，长纤维束和加强结构可以在大约半小时的时间内同时加工（从大约两天大大减少）。该项目将支持Bionic Power Inc.将创新产品推向市场。这种高技术产品的设计需要持续的长期研发投资，并与材料科学领域的研究小组建立长期关系。与现有的解决方案相比，这种新产品将减少制造时间和成本，并增加产品的可靠性和寿命。此外，复合材料研究网络（CRN）获得的信息将通过其实践知识中心（KPC）以易于适用于工业活动的格式传播给加拿大工业。

Electrical power for portable electronics is typically stored in batteries. These batteries become heavy andcumbersome if a substantial amount if is required. Military personnel typically carry 16-20 lb of batteries on a72- hour mission. To address this, Bionic Power Inc. has developed a novel bionic power generation systemthat produces power as the user walks.The focus of this research project is to investigate the potential use of a hybrid process to manufacture lightweight components for a bionic power generation device. Bionic Power Inc.'s current manufacturing processrequires roughly one day to manufacture the shell and another to bond an internal structure to it. Their productrequires long strand aramid fibers (Kevlar) in the shell and a stiffening structure with mounting points for theelectrical hardware. With a hybrid manufacturing process, the long strand fibers and stiffening structure couldbe processed at the same time on the order of ~half an hour (a great reduction from ~two days).This project will support Bionic Power Inc. in bringing an innovative product on the market. The design of thishighly technical product will require continuous long-term investment in research and development, and theestablishment of long-term relationships with research groups in the field of materials science. Compared to theexisting solution, this new product will reduce manufacturing times and costs, and increase the reliability andlifetime of their products. In addition, information gained by the Composites Research Network (CRN) will bedisseminated to the Canadian industry through its Knowledge in Practice Centre (KPC) in a format that isreadily applicable to industrial activities.