The Shanghai scientific research team developed "unplugged" light-emitting power generation fibers and achieved an important breakthrough in the field of smart fibers.

　　China News Service, Shanghai, April 5 (Reporter Xu Jing) The Advanced Functional Materials Research Group of the School of Materials Science and Engineering of Donghua University has developed a new type of smart fiber that integrates wireless energy collection, information sensing and transmission functions, and is woven by it. The manufactured smart textiles can achieve human-computer interaction functions such as light-emitting display and touch control without relying on chips and batteries.

　　This breakthrough achievement opens up new possibilities for intelligent interaction between humans and the environment and has broad application prospects. Relevant research results were published in Science magazine on the 5th.

On April 5, the Advanced Functional Materials Research Group of the School of Materials Science and Engineering of Donghua University published a research paper titled "Single body-coupled fiber enables chipless textile electronics" in Science. Photo courtesy of Donghua University

　　As technology continues to develop, smart wearable devices are gradually becoming a part of our lives and playing an increasingly important role in health monitoring, telemedicine, human-computer interaction and other fields. Compared with traditional rigid semiconductor components or flexible film devices, electronic textiles woven from smart fibers have better breathability and softness and are regarded as ideal carriers for wearable devices.

　　At present, the development of smart fibers is mostly based on the "von Neumann architecture", which uses silicon-based chips as the core of information processing to develop various electronic fiber functional modules, such as sensing fibers for signal collection, conductive fibers for signal transmission, and information display. Luminous fibers, power generation fibers for energy supply, etc. However, smart textiles at this stage still rely on chips and batteries, and are large in size, weight and rigidity, making it difficult to meet people's needs for textile functionality and comfort at the same time.

　　In this study, the scientific research team of Donghua University pioneered a new type of smart fiber with a "non-von Neumann architecture", which effectively simplifies the hardware structure of wearable devices and smart textiles and optimizes their wearability. This work enables the integration of energy collection, information sensing, signal transmission and other functions into a single fiber, and weaves it into smart textiles that do not rely on chips and batteries.

　　What’s the mystery behind fibers that can emit light and generate electricity “without being plugged in”? The answer is our bodies. This study proposes to use the human body as a carrier of energy interaction, opening up a convenient energy "channel". The electromagnetic energy originally dissipated in the atmosphere preferentially enters the loop composed of fibers, human body, and the earth. It is precisely this "daily use but not The principle of "feeling" promotes a new energy interaction mechanism of "human body coupling". After adding specific functional materials, this new type of fiber will show a "magic scene" of luminescence and power generation just by being touched by the human body.

Schematic diagram of human body coupled electromagnetic energy harvesting. Photo courtesy of Donghua University

　　"This new fiber has a three-layer sheath core structure and uses relatively common raw materials on the market. The cost of raw materials is low, and the processing of fibers and fabrics can be achieved with mature processes, and it has mass production capabilities." The paper No. Said co-author Yang Weifeng, a doctoral candidate at the School of Materials Science and Engineering at Donghua University.

Prospects for smart life scenarios. Photo courtesy of Donghua University

　　The study also demonstrated several applications of this smart fiber based on the human body coupling principle: without using chips and batteries, functions such as fiber touch luminescence, fabric display, and wireless command transmission were realized. Hou Chengyi, a researcher at the State Key Laboratory of Fiber Material Modification (Donghua University), said that these novel functions are expected to expand the application scenarios of electronic products and even change the way people live smart lives.

Some teachers and students of the Advanced Functional Materials Research Group. Photo courtesy of Donghua University

　　Professor Wang Hongzhi, leader of the research team, said that in the next phase, the research team will conduct in-depth research on how to make this new type of fiber more effective in collecting energy from space and use it to drive more functions, including display, deformation, computing, and artificial intelligence. Wait, I believe that in the near future, smart clothing can do more things, people will become more powerful, and they will have better adaptability to the environment.

　　During the same period, Science also invited experts from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to comment and report on the results. This achievement is considered to be expected to change the way people interact with the environment and between people, and has important inspiration for the development of functional fibers and the application of smart textiles in different fields. In terms of basic research, because this smart fiber and textile can "unknowingly" collect body touch data on a large scale without interfering with people's daily activities, it can more efficiently and conveniently collect physical data during the interaction between the human body and the outside world. Information, which is expected to influence the development of basic models for human physical interaction research.

　　Yang Weifeng is the first author of the paper, Professor Wang Hongzhi and Researcher Hou Chengyi of the State Key Laboratory of Fiber Material Modification (Donghua University), and Researcher Zhang Qinghong of the School of Materials Science and Engineering of Donghua University are the corresponding authors of the paper. This research work is led by Donghua University as the only communication unit, and the cooperative units include the National University of Singapore and Anhui Agricultural University. (over)