FLORIDA – The futuristic concept behind Marty McFly’s iconic self-lacing Nike shoes in the Back to the Future film franchise have inspired a textile scientist at the University of Central Florida (UCF), who has developed a set of filament yarns which, when woven into garments, can actually harvest and store the sun’s energy.
The breakthrough, which on a technical level is similar to the recent ‘solar textile’ advances at the Georgia Institute of Technology, could in theory turn garments into wearable, solar powered batteries which never need to be plugged in. It’s been suggested that these types of developments have the potential to one day revolutionise the wearable technology industry – particularly in the world of military textiles where heavy and bulky batteries are always looking to be replaced.
