Energy harvesting and movement tracking by polypyrrole functionalized textile for wearable IoT applications

Textiles for health and sporting activity monitoring are on the rise with the advent of smart portable wearables. The intention of this work is to design wireless monitoring wearables, based on widely available textiles and low environmental impact production technologies. Herein we have developed a polymeric ink which is able to functionalize different types of textile fibers (including silver conducting fibers, cotton, and commercial textile) with polypyrrole. These fibers were weaved together with a thinner silver conducting fiber and carbon fiber to form a touch-sensitive energy harvesting system that would generate an electric output when mechanical pressure is applied to it. Different prototypes were manufactured with loom weaving accessories to simulate real textile cloths. By simple touch, the prototypes produced a maximum voltage of 244 V and a maximum power density of 2.29 W m⁻². The current generated is then transformed into a digital signal, which is further utilized for human motion or gesture monitorization. The system comprises a wireless block for the Internet of Things (IoT) applicability that will be eventually extended to future remote health and sports monitoring systems.