Issue 4, 2021

Power generation for wearable systems

Abstract

Wearable devices are drawing increasing attention in both academia and industry in that they can offer unprecedented information related to human health in real-time and human–machine interactions, which is expected to enable a paradigm shift in the digital world. For this shift to occur, green and sustainable energy technology for powering flexible wearable devices is a roadblock. This paper is dedicated to reviewing cutting-edge wearable power generation methodologies, for which we discuss their pros and cons, underlying physics, and general design/evaluation criteria. Sensor types, materials, processing technology, power consumption, and methods of testing the stretchability and flexibility of wearable devices are also summarized. Based on application scenarios in healthcare, industrial inspection, structural monitoring, armed forces and consumer electronics, an integrated system architecture of wearable, flexible systems is presented. Finally, future perspectives of wearable technologies are outlined by covering the aspects of all-in-one printable wearable electronics, fiber and textile electronics, self-powered self-awareness wearable systems, hybrid-integrated Systems on a Chip (SoC) for flexible electronics, and Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled self-contained systems towards full life cycle monitoring.

Graphical abstract: Power generation for wearable systems

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Review Article
Submitted
15 Dec 2020
Accepted
03 Feb 2021
First published
11 Feb 2021

Energy Environ. Sci., 2021,14, 2114-2157

Power generation for wearable systems

M. Gao, P. Wang, L. Jiang, B. Wang, Y. Yao, S. Liu, D. Chu, W. Cheng and Y. Lu, Energy Environ. Sci., 2021, 14, 2114 DOI: 10.1039/D0EE03911J

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