Voltaic Systems, the company that started the light-weight, flexible solar power integration into bags is soon offering a tablet case for iPad, Samsung Galaxy Tab and other tablets hitting the market soon.

Drawing on the experience Voltaic gained over the past years about solar power on the go, the Spark Tablet Case promises 1 hour of sun equals to one hour of iPad run time, taking away the need for hunting down a wail outlet while out and about.

The Spark Tablet Case offers soft padding to protect the precious tablets, weights around 2 pounds including the on-case battery pack and solar panels and has additional pockets for other small stuff you might carry along.

To add to the environmental consciousness of using alternative energy, the shell of the case is made from recycled soda bottles.

The case comes as a black shell with alternative colors accents for the solar panel in silver, charcoal and orange. The price is not set yet and the availability is Spring 2011, so just a few weeks ahead, ready for the summer sun fun.

As I pointed out many times before, I am a dedicated follower of the sun, never leave out the opportunity to get my daily does of sun rays for my body and my solar bag, a companion that is always with me, harvesting tirelessly sun power for my little gadgets.

Designer Weng Jie created recently a concept design putting flexible solar panels into a camera strap. These straps, which every DSL user knows, are wide to distribute the heavy camera load to make it more comfortable to carry around the camera. This wide size and the outwards to the light/sun pointing surface makes them a perfect place for utilizing it as a solar power harvesting area.

Weng envisions to have storage batteries at each end of the strap and a DC out connector to feed electrical power to the cameras battery.

I did a quick surface are calculation, based on his sketch, usable for placing a flexible solar panel would be good enough to generate 6V with 100mA using standard flexible solar panels. Quite a lot power to generate via the camera strap.

I love the brilliance of this idea, again using common items of our daily life and spice it up with a bit of soft technology.

The solar power camera strap is only a concept design right now but I am hopeful to see this in the camera accessory section in retail shops soon.

[via: Yanko Design]

Connecting to yesterdays article of solar power harvesting fabrics for sun management outside I found an interesting design concept for sun light management indoors.

The Energy curtain designed by Anders Ernevi, Margot Jacobs, Ramia Mazé, Carolin Müller, Johan Redström and Linda Worbin at the Interactive Institute, a Swedish experimental media research institute that combines expertise in art, design and technology.

The Energy Curtain is a window shade woven from a combination of textile, solar-collection and light-emitting materials.

During the day, the shade can be drawn to give shade and to limit the heat coming inside a room and during the evening, the collected energy is returned as a glowing pattern on the inside of the shade, illuminating the room with the excess light blocked out during intensive sun shine.

Such design is another win-win solution, using a everyday object, adding soft solar panels on one side and integrate soft textile illumination elements on the other side.

As with many other of such fabulous creative ideas – the commercialization is lagging behind. The advantages of the Energy Curtain design is very obvious I do not understand why this design has not been picked up yet for commercialization.

Maybe another gap in the value chain of (very) smart textile designs? Maybe these great design ideas do not make it into the awareness of potential companies or investors to take it and had with it to the market?

Maybe talk2myShirt can contribute in filling some gaps by introducing these smart designs to our readers from the industry. I would be a highly potential customer of the Energy Curtain, having many days of sunshine at my apartment windows.

Regular reader of talk2myShirt will know my special love of having Solar power in my bags.

I am fascinated from the possibility flexible, super thin solar panels which can be seamless integrated into fabrics without altering it, allowing applications conventional, glass based solar panels with a rigid metal frame do not offer.

A comprehensive overview of the power of fabrics can be found at ‘Specialty Fabrics Review‘. The article investigates the use of flexible, thin film solar panels incorporated into fabrics used for awnings and other shade structures.

Although we love sun shine, too much at certain places is also not desirable so we use sun shades on our terraces, in our gardens, in parks, on the beach and many other places.

Fitting these sun shade with solar power generating fabrics is a win-win solution. Sun shade structures are used when the sun showers us with it’s full energy and at the same time these shade spending objects don’t just reflect but harvest the energy for our use electrical power hungry gadgets.

The latest generation of solar power enhanced awning fabrics even use part of their self generated sun energy to power a sensor and motor to detect when no sun is shining to fold and unfold again when the sun is at it’s full power potential.

Unlike bags with the limited space for solar panels, awnings and other shade structures offer a large area able to generate significant amounts of electrical energy.

The article contains a list of companies that start offering sun management systems based on solar powered textiles in time for this years sunny summer season.

For me it seems like a logical and environmental conscious option to use sun power generating textile awnings or tents or sheets that can be stored and easily transported in a bag and put up at the beach or garden to get some shade and extra charge for our growing number of indispensable gadgets.

[source: Speciality Fabrics Review]

According to an article from SiliconIndia, students at Nirma University designed a helmet that doubles as electricity generator. How? Firstly there are solar panels covering the helmet converting solar energy into electrical energy.

As backup power generator for rainy days or after sunset the students Pragnesh Dudhaiya and Aalok Bhatt envision the use of wind turbines integrated into the helmet. Smart idea but I am not so sure if we can call this also practical as a wind turbine has some ‘moving parts’ that most likely will make some noise on/in your head when the turbines work full speed.

Personally I like very much the – I guess – flexible solar panel cover for biker helmets. Most of the time biking is done by reasonable good and sunny weather where solar energy is plentiful. Maybe this concept is not necessarily something city or short distance commuters will find useful but I have some friends who spend many hours and days on bike trips, preferable when the weather is fine, and complain about batteries running out in their GPS devices which they find essential on those extended trips.

Think about – in most countries helmets for bikers are mandatory so why not using that area on the helmets to something useful, giving an occasional charge to devices while far away from any power grid.

If you are interested into how wind turbine in a helmet could work, check out this design concept by Malaysian designer Wai Hoong Leng, the Wind-Helmet.

[via: Gizmowatch]

Wearable electronic is often associated with being not fashionable enough, looking ‘geeky’ and functional.

I have to admit some commercial products and concept designs confirm this association but there is a growing number of commercial as well as concept designs showing the fusion of technology and fashion can enrich both: the use of technology in new environments not possible without integrating it into clothing and the enrichment of fashion aesthetics with the use of electronic style elements.

To underline today’s headline, let’s have a look to the solar vest from Dominic Wanjihia who describes himself as ‘an inventor of appropriate technology, environmentally friendly gadgets applicable to the empowerment of rural people.’

Dominic’s solar vest is no fashion beauty but his motivation, his target consumers have other needs than looking fashionable. He created the solar vest for Boda Boda operators in Kenya. Boda Boda is a mode of transport to go quickly around without getting stuck in heavy traffic and is used by people of all walks of life  from school children, market goers, workers, business persons.

The Boda Boda rider’s working day starts early in the morning and goes until late night. These riders often rely on their cellphone to get customers to be picked up. Using a bicycle dynamo to charge their business tool – cellphone – could be one option to keep it charged all day but add-ons on a bicycle can be easily removed from not well meaning competitors or other folks.

Integrating flexible solar panels in the vest while driving around most of the day in sunshine generates plenty of electricity to charge the Boda Boda rider’s cellphone. He even can offer a charging service to his customers while riding with him.

In parts of the world where power outlets are not the standard in most houses, where sunshine is plenty, wearable power clothing does make perfectly sense and does not have to be necessarily highly fashionable. Workwear is foremost functional and comfortable as possible to wear and only then comes the fashion aspect.

Sure – the cost of flexible solar panels are much to high to be an alternative for Boda Boda rider’s work-wear but I do hope all the promises from the solar industry to bring down cost, especially the ‘simpler’ roll-to-roll production costs used for flexible solar panels become reality very soon.

[via: AfriGadget]

Sunnybag is a new line of exclusive shoulder bags with integrated, flexible solar panels made by Austrian company Ponsold.

The first model available is the ‘Business Pro‘, made of finest dark brown cow-skin leather and includes a 1600mAh Li-Ion battery pack, 2 flexible solar panels with 3 watts of power output, connectors to more than 400 different cell phones, iPhone 2G, 3GS, iPod and USB-port.

The ‘Business Pro’ is a exceptionally good looking business bag with a large, 2 piece solar active area which will still charge the on-bag battery on a cloudy day.

I have expressed my opinion, my love for solar bags, which are one of the best marriages of technology and soft goods, multiple times. Flexible solar panels on bags don’t add much additional weight, they are robust enough to withstand the ‘treatment’ we give our bags but they generate almost unlimited electrical power for our growing number of electronic pocket devices. Power we never can have enough off, power we often badly need for that important call or other tasks we depend so much in our digital lifestyle.

The retail price of the ‘Business Pro’ SunnyBag is $299,- available via Sunnybag’s online shop.

I particularly like the statement of Stefan Ponsold, project leader of R&D in SunnyBag’s press release: ‘Our solar bags are more than a fashion statement, they are a personal statement about a commitment to sustainability, sensibility and responsibility.’

Italian’s high end fashion brand  Ermenegildo Zegna is making a big impact again in the innovative, technology enhanced fashion arena with the launch of the Ecotech Solar Jacket as part of the Zegna Sport collection.

Almost 2 years after Zegna introduced the first top brand solar jacket in the market, the Solar JKT which had removable solar panels on the collar, a position I am not very convinced to be the best location on a jacket to harvest solar energy, Zegna moved the solar panels in the Ecotech Solar Jacket to the sleeves on the upper arms.

As in the first solar jacket version, the solar panels and storage battery can be detached to use it as stand alone solar power system and to remove it when cleaning the jacket.

The solar panels and battery are connected inside the jacket via a textile cable system which can safely withstand the washing cycle.

To fully justify the ‘ECO’ label, Zegna not only integrated the solar power feature but also made the Ecotech Solar Jacket from 100% recycled plastic sources. This new groundbreaking production process combines high level technical performance with the protection of the environment.

The on-jacket storage battery is capable to charge almost any portable electronic device such as cell phones, MP3 player and the likes. A full charge of the jackets battery requires four to five hours of direct sunlight, so a extended walk in the sunny autumn afternoon gives you pone free load for your beloved gadget.

Zegna Sports technical partners for this advanced solar power jacket have been German based Interactive Wear and Italian based Thermore.

Watch the YouTube video below showing the ‘making off’ Zegna Sports Ecotech Solar-Jacket:

Finland based Suntrica is a young company exploring the possibilities of thin, lightweight solar panels as wearable add-on solution for clothing and bags.

An interesting idea as such self-containing add-on module allows to quickly and easily move it from one bag to another, leave it at home when no sun is shining.

Personally I like the integration of flexible solar panels, I don’t mind if my solar panel has no use while being under an overcast sky as the integration takes away the need to take care and not loose another item in my growing ‘gadgetery’ I am carrying around.

Nevertheless, some people might like the modular solution and the next best thing I could imagine using is Suntrica’s SolarStrap™, a lightweight, flexible  solar-charging badge containing on one half the flexible solar panel capable of harvesting 50mAh by full sun light and housing on the other half the storage battery with a capacity of 950mAh, larger enough to fill up most cell-phones and MP3 player when fully charged.

The power output is rated at 5.5V at 800mA via mini USB and a selection of the most common cellphone adaptors. The weight of the SolarStrap is 60g and the dimension when folded is 144x97x25mm.

The SolarStrap might not the most powerful solar charging solution but it is small to be placed quickly anywhere on your bag or body and being small and freely placable you can alway adjust the placement to point straight into the sun achieving the maximum on solar power harvesting.

A interesting concept / product but I couldn’t find any shop who is selling it and no price information was available as of today. I will watch out if the SolarStrap becomes commercially available.

Many of us dream of getting electrical energy not only free of charge but also have it available in the remotest areas of our world. Even better, if everyday objects like our clothing can constantly and continuously keep our pockets full of electrical gadgets powered forever, it would feel like the digital heaven on earth.

To make sure that dream becomes reality one day, Konarka the number one flexible solar malarial maker from US has made another significant step towards photovoltaic (solar) textiles.

An article published on Science Magazine: ‘Solar Power Wires Based on Organic Photovoltaic Materials‘, co-authored by Konarka’s vice president of research, Dr. Russell Gaudiana and chief technology officer Christoph Brabec discusses how a wire format requires long-distance transport of current that can be achieved only with conventional metals, eliminating the use of transparent oxide semiconductors.

In simplified terms: stainless steel wires the thickness of a human hair of around 100 micron get a three layer coat to form a organic solar cell. A second wire just 50 microns thick is coated with silver paste for the secondary electrode. These two wires are inter winded and coated in a clear polymer coat for protection and insulation.

The resulting solar wire/fiber is capable of harvest around 3% of light into electrical energy. This might not sound much (and it isn’t) but with the large areas textile often cover (clothing, furniture, tents, sails, …) these 3% can add up nicely to a steady flow of energy to juice up our digital lifestyle.

First prototypes of the solar fibers are several hundred feed long and can be woven into solar power generating clothing or other textile products.

This highly interesting report can be viewed/downloaded via the Konarka News site.