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Phoenix666 [soylentnews.org] writes:

Phys.org [phys.org]:

Clothes are usually made of textiles and have to be both wearable and washable for daily use; however, smart clothing presents a challenge with its power sources and moisture permeability, which causes the devices to malfunction. This problem has now been overcome by a KAIST research team, who developed a textile-based wearable display module technology that is washable and does not require an external power source.

To phase out external power sources and enhance the practicability of wearable displays, Professor Kyung Cheol Choi from the School of Electrical Engineering and his team fabricated their wearable display modules on real textiles that integrate polymer solar cells (PSCs) with organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs).

PSCs are one of the most promising candidates for next-generation power sources, especially for wearable and optoelectronic applications, because they can provide stable power without an external power source, while OLEDs can be driven with milliwatts. However, the problem is that they are both vulnerable to external moisture and oxygen. The encapsulation barrier is essential for their reliability. The conventional encapsulation barrier is sufficient for normal environments; however, it loses its characteristics in aqueous environments such as water. It limits the commercialization of wearable displays that must operate even on rainy days or after washing.

Hooray. We'll be able to watch ads on people's overcoats on the subway.

Original Submission