If you find yourself living in a jungle of cables, innovations like this fabric recharger will (in the near future) be the key to feeling free of such mess. As we rely more and more on mobile devices, charging stations also become a daily necessity for us. Home and office both serve as important places to recharge, as they’re already likely home to a mess of power cables or to your PC for quick USB recharging. When you’re elsewhere, however, such as on a flight, in a classroom, or even at a meeting, it can be difficult to find a place to recharge your devices. New technology aims to free you from cables and proximity to wall sockets, allowing you to recharge within easy reach and without a cord to clutter your workspace.
Four students from Denmark’s Aalborg University created one of the first steps to this new future, a fabric called Powertex which can be used to charge electronic mobile devices such as computers and phones. Simply by placing the device onto the fabric, its battery will be recharged. Recharging stations of the future will instead look like simple mats of fabric rather than spidery masses of different cables emerging from a central core. One use that is suggested is using Powertex as upholstery in public transportation (buses, airplanes, trains) or public buildings (stations, courthouses, libraries).
By simply setting your device next to you, on a neighboring seat, or on some other object upholstered with the fabric, it can recharge without the need to find the correct cable. In the future, this technology may even be adapted to the point where sitting on a chair made of similar fabric could recharge devices kept in your pockets, purse, or backpack. Creations like this are remarkable enough in their own right, but they could also be the first stepping stone toward a future of efficient, wireless power. For other interesting and awesome recharging ideas, check out the Kinetically Powered nPower PEG or this consolidated Recharging Valet.
