A team of researchers from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore has developed a fabric that contains a polymer that converts mechanical stress into electrical energy. It’s also made with stretchable spandex as a base layer and integrated with a rubber-like material to keep it strong, flexible and waterproof. The new fabric generates enough electrical energy to light up 100 LEDs. According to the team, washing, folding and crumpling the fabric didn’t cause any decrease in performance, and it can maintain stable electrical output for up to 5 months. It's believed that this fabric could be woven into t-shirts or integrated into the soles of shoes to collect energy from the body’s smallest movements, piping electricity to mobile devices. For now, the prototype still faces more testing before it could be made available for commercial use.
