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Energy Harvesting Clothing
Energy sources exist everywhere from food, cars, homes, nature, etc. Many energy sources remain unused, perhaps one of the greatest untapped energy sources of all time is the human body. The average adult has as much energy stored in fat as a one-ton battery. The simple motion of walking creates kinetic energy, the rubbing of our clothing as we move creates electrostatic energy, and the heat our bodies produces thermal energy. Scientists have been working upon these basic principles to create energy harvesting clothing using piezoelectric materials.

History
There is not an extensive history of energy harvesting clothing, however human generated power has existed for decades. Scientists have tried harvesting thermal energy, electrostatic energy, but the energy that produces the highest power outage is kinetic energy. For example, hand crank flashlights, radios and televisions. However, the advancing research is leading to harvesting energy in a more subliminal way. The Green Microgym located in Portland, Oregon uses human generated electricity to power the building. The stationary bikes in the gym covert the energy into electricity whenever someone uses them. The gym produces twice as much energy as it needs to power the entire building. The same principle is being applied in dance clubs in the Netherlands. The dance floors are comprised on piezoelectric materials that convert the mechanical energy created by the dancers applying pressure to the floor into electricity that is used to power the LED lights in the dance floor. The same piezoelectric materials that are used in the dance floor are being weaved into nanofibers to be incorporated into textiles in order to generate energy harvesting clothing.

Piezoelectricity
In 1880 Jacques and Pierre Curie discovered the piezoelectric effect. They discovered that materials such as quartz, topaz, cane sugar, Rochelle salt, and bone possess a piezoelectric effect. They described these materials as the ones that are able to produce electricity. The piezoelectric effect occurs when one of these material’s crystal lattice structure is interrupted because of applied stress. This disturbance in the crystal lattice structure causes an imbalance of the positive and negative charges creating a potential difference that results in an electrical current.

Current Wearable Designs
The development of energy harvesting clothing is still in the beginning phases. The current products include a piezoelectric clothing patch, shoe insert, and several other products that are in design.

Piezoelectric Clothing Patch
Researchers at Sogang University in Korea have designed a patch to be applied to joints such as elbows and knees that produces electricity. The design incorporates a polymer piezoelectric film; inside this film the double-helical structure creates air gaps that allows it to be elastic. This elasticity factor is important for the application to the joints to create the highest production of electricity. The team predicts that a 10 x 10 cm patch would produce several dozen milliwatts, this could power hearing aids, pacemakers, neurological stimulators, and cochlea implants.

Shoe Insert
An energy harvesting company called, SolePower, is designing a power generating shoe. Their goal for the product is to create enough power to charge cell phones or other small electronic devices. The insert is waterproof and slips inside the shoe as a normal shoe insert would and captures the energy lost to the environment of every step and converts it into electrical power. The user of the insole does not need to directly connect their electronic device to the insole nor remove it, the power generated is stored in mini USB ports

Future Innovations
The research for energy harvesting clothing still has a long way to go. There has been extensive research funded by the Canadian military to create wearable body suits for soldiers that carry 30 pounds of batteries, this could be lightened by the use of energy harvesting clothing. Several outdoors companies have invested into this field to develop clothing that powers lanterns, phones, radios, and other various tools that campers or hikers may need. A polymer film surrounded by piezoelectric fibers inserted into the body that would harvest kinetic energy from the dilation and contraction of blood vessels providing electricity for pacemakers, insulin pump and other medical devices. Many believe that energy harvesting clothing is the next big move in alternative energy.