P2

Description of Design

Imagine a garment that could harness the energy of body movement and thermal differences, and have the added benefit of temperature control and vitals monitoring. Such a garment could be created from the P2 textile – a thread born of two primary technologies currently in development: the piezoelectric and Peltier effects of certain metals. At its core, the P2 textile is essentially a flexible, linear Peltier chip made of two dissimilar piezoelectric metals, wrapped in a sheath of thermally conductive material lined with electrically conductive fibers. An elastomer embedded with electronic ink encases all of the metals and conductors, resulting in a ribbon-like thread about two millimeters in width. The flat P2 thread can be woven into patches that can perform a number of functions resulting from the unique relationship it shares with the human body. Movement of the garment by the body creates and electrical current due to the properties of piezoelectric metals. A special seam along the patches edge interfaces with the conductance layer, while also attaching a traditional textile boarder. If a small computer were to be connected to the interfacing seam, the piezoelectric portion of the patch could be used to extrapolate pressure zones. This phenomenon would allow for control buttons that would be displayed on the garment via the embedded electronic ink. Such controls as temperature adjustment and power usage could be displayed along with other possibilities, such as maps or camouflage patterns. The thermal difference between the wearer of a P2 garment and his or her ambient environmental temperature also creates a current – the greater this difference, the more electrical output. This aspect of the P2 thread is why it is ribbon-like instead of round – there must be two differentiated sides for the Peltier effect to work. The electronic ink on the outside of the garment can also be used to regulate the best contrast to maximize the performance of the thread. Providing power to the P2 patch would result in either heating or cooling the wearer, depending on the polarity of the DC current. In this mode, however, the garment would become slightly stiffer, due to piezoelectric metals attempting to straighten with the addition of power. Attached controls could allow for automatic temperature control for specific regions of the body utilizing other, attached garments. The attachment interface would be a regular-looking snap, but would allow for additional controls, batteries or even flexible solar panels. A P2 garment would most likely be worn as a second layer, over a performance athletic under shirt. Some examples of users could be soldiers, firefighters, or inside bio-suits or space suits. It would not have to be cleaned as often as other garments, but it could be machine washed once all snapped-on attachments were removed. The snap itself prevents shorting, so when it is not attached to anything the power generated by the movement simply causes one side to get warm and the other to get cool.