Anyone remember automatic watches? You know self-winding watches, no batteries, you put them on after you set the time and a mechanism inside the watch reacted to your physical movement, and powered the watch.

the watch contains a fan-shaped rotor (aka a weight or an oscillating mass) within the watch case. The normal movements of the user’s arm and wrist cause the rotor to pivot back-and-forth on its staff which is attached to a ratcheted winding mechanism. The motion of the wearer’s arm is thereby translated into the circular motion of the rotor that through a series of reverser and reducing gears, eventually winds the mainspring.

So a great way to convert kinetic energy into stored energy was devised in the mid 1800′s and a really simple idea that makes a lot of sense, has been under utilised, or overlooked for all that time.

So now that you think I’m going to tell you about another watch, I’ll get to the point. What if the clothing you wear could convert the kinetic energy of your daily movements into an electric charge, adequate to charge the bevy of devices you use every day. Recent developments have resulted in funding being provided for extensive research into this idea.

Essentially I’m talking about what’s being called “Clever Clothing”, and we know of utility clothing made to facilitate and compliment our use of mobile devices but the question is, what if your Armani could charge your phone?

The CSIRO, Australia’s foremost science and technology organisation has received funding (US$4.4milion) to further develop this idea

Imagine being able to use electronic devices by simply plugging them in to your clothing .

This probably isn’t a huge leap from the automatic watch, but somehow the simplest ideas get overlooked don’t they? Think about it, a jacket with multiple pockets, and customisable docks for all of your devices, when you put the device in your pocket, you are docked(connected) synced and charged, facilitated by walking the dog.

You know this is new, I hope it’s classy as well!

CSIRO Press Release

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