Aniela Hoitink and Meg Grant gave an artist/expert talk about Solar Fiber at the Gogbot Festival on 7 September 2012. They were there to explain the concept with proof-of-concept prototypes.
Meg and Aniela presenting the Solar Fiber concept.
Explaining our proof-of-concept.
We integrated fiber optic threads into fabrics and presented them as examples of how a 0.5 mm solar fiber could be used in everyday textile applications. Light travels from the surface of the fiber optic threads to the ends where we placed photodiodes.
Demonstrating our proof-of-concept by connecting a multimeter to the photodiodes and shining a bright light on the embedded optic fibers. The photodiodes generate about 0.5V.
After the presentation there was time for questions and discussion.
Meg and Aniela presenting the Solar Fiber concept.
Explaining our proof-of-concept.
We integrated fiber optic threads into fabrics and presented them as examples of how a 0.5 mm solar fiber could be used in everyday textile applications. Light travels from the surface of the fiber optic threads to the ends where we placed photodiodes.
Demonstrating our proof-of-concept by connecting a multimeter to the photodiodes and shining a bright light on the embedded optic fibers. The photodiodes generate about 0.5V.
After the presentation there was time for questions and discussion.
The month of september will be a busy month for the team behind Solar Fiber.
At these festivals we plan to present our first working prototypes of a Solar Fiber textile. The second step in the quest to make every sunlit surface on earth energy harvesting!
The agenda:
GOGBOT, Enschede, 6-9 september 2012
An art, music and technology festival.
PICNIC, Amsterdam, 17-18 september 2012
“Come explore how through the power of (connected) technology, consumers and citizens are (re)discovering the ability to take greater control over their lives, causing huge power shifts. The Occupy Movement, Arab Spring, the emergence of local barter economies, microfinance and crowdfunding, democracy 3.0, open design, quantified self, and the explosion of amateur content creation and distribution platforms are examples of the disruption of traditional organizing systems and business models.”
Discovery Festival, Amsterdam/Rotterdam/Eindhoven, 28 september 2012
Discovery Festival is a new innovating nighttime festival that is all about the kick of inventing new things! New science, new art, new music; Discovery festival leads you to exciting roads and forges unique connections.
At these festivals we plan to present our first working prototypes of a Solar Fiber textile. The second step in the quest to make every sunlit surface on earth energy harvesting!
The agenda:
GOGBOT, Enschede, 6-9 september 2012
An art, music and technology festival.
PICNIC, Amsterdam, 17-18 september 2012
“Come explore how through the power of (connected) technology, consumers and citizens are (re)discovering the ability to take greater control over their lives, causing huge power shifts. The Occupy Movement, Arab Spring, the emergence of local barter economies, microfinance and crowdfunding, democracy 3.0, open design, quantified self, and the explosion of amateur content creation and distribution platforms are examples of the disruption of traditional organizing systems and business models.”
Discovery Festival, Amsterdam/Rotterdam/Eindhoven, 28 september 2012
Discovery Festival is a new innovating nighttime festival that is all about the kick of inventing new things! New science, new art, new music; Discovery festival leads you to exciting roads and forges unique connections.
The Solar Fiber project was conceived in May 2012 during Ideas Waiting to Happen, an initiative by Creative Cities Amsterdam Area (website in Dutch), Digiluce and Doe Het Niet Zelf (website in Dutch).
Ideas Waiting to Happen brings together scientists, designers, artists, technologists and makers with the goal of fostering innovation. The four day event was sponsored by L&P Group and Philips, who provided prizes as extra motivation to the innovators. Solar Fiber won the first prize of development money and support from L&P Group. There were a lot of great ideas resulting from this initiative, so we feel very lucky to have won. Aniela has a more detailed write-up on her site that’s worth checking out.
Our idea
The idea behind Solar Fiber is a flexible photovoltaic fiber that converts sunlight energy into electrical energy. We aim to develop this as a yarn that can be worked into all sorts of fabrics. This “smart material” will be able to be used in all sorts of applications where textiles are currently used, but with the added advantage of being able to produce an electrical current.
Development
Developing a photovoltaic fiber is not a completely new idea, nor is it a simple task. We don’t want to wait for years to get people excited about this innovation, that’s why our development approach is two-fold:
- First and foremost, we are working on a a photovoltaic fiber with a protective coating that will likely start its life as a 5mm fiber and eventually be extruded to 100µm.
- Before we get there, we are working on proof of concept prototypes that will help to communicate our idea and show real life applications for the technology.
Keep up with our project
We’ll be posting regular updates in the Latest news section of this site. If you want to ask us a question, feel free to contact us.
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