Smart electronic devices are becoming very popular, but charging them can prove problematic. South Korean scientists say they have developed an energy-generating fabric that can power a range of devices. Just tapping the fabric – known as a wearable triboelectric nanogenerator – can power devices such as, for example, a remote control for cars or a light-up badge. Professor Kim Sang-Woo led the research at Sungkyunkwan University.

“People try to remove static electricity in daily life and attempts to use it as an energy source were quite limited. That’s why we started this research, to use static electricity as an energy source,” he says.

The layers of silver-coated textile rub against an organic polymer film. The researchers have shown the electricity created from this friction can power lights, screens – and more.

“With this energy, we can power Light Emitting Diodes and Liquid Crystal displays without an external power source, as well as demonstrating low-power devices like s