Improving Wearables with Flexible and Rechargable Battery

Nowadays, there is a lot of technology that implements wearables in fashion, medicine, worker safety, accessories and much more. Many wearables are coupled with uncomfortable charging cables that are irritating for users to handle, some even have big batteries that make wearables a burden instead of an advantage. Statistics show that people tend to abandon this devices after only 6 months of buying them, and battery life and portability is one of the issues. Addressing portability, the nanoengineers at the university of California San Diego have developed a new material that allows the creation of flexible, stretchable, and rechargeable batteries which can be printed into clothes.

Improving Wearables with Flexible and Rechargable Battery

This material named SIS can be expanded twice its size in any direction without any damage. SIS is made from a hyper elastic polymer material made from isoprene and polystyrene. The ink used to print the batteries is made with Zinc silver oxide with bismuth (to make it rechargeable). The whole flexible battery is made from both SIS and the ink. When zinc battery runs out, their electrodes react with the liquid electrolyte inside the battery which eventually shorts circuits the battery, bismuth prevents this from happening and ensures battery durability.

The prototype has 1/5 the capacity of a hearing aid rechargeable battery and it´s 1/10 as thick. It costs only $0.5 USD to produce and uses commercially available materials which makes it cheaper and smaller, but not as efficient as a common wearable battery. Two of these batteries are needed to power a 3 v LED, so a lot of them would be needed to power a bigger device.

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About The Author

Ibrar Ayyub

I am an experienced technical writer holding a Master's degree in computer science from BZU Multan, Pakistan University. With a background spanning various industries, particularly in home automation and engineering, I have honed my skills in crafting clear and concise content. Proficient in leveraging infographics and diagrams, I strive to simplify complex concepts for readers. My strength lies in thorough research and presenting information in a structured and logical format.

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