Iowa State University

EPA P3 National Sustainable Design Expo

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As an interdisciplinary team of undergraduate students, graduate students, and faculty, we designed, tested and optimized a solar powered jacket that can charge electronic devices on the go and reduce dependence on nonrenewable materials to promote sustainable living and smart textile development.

 

Market research and focus groups helped to determine functional, expressive and aesthetic design criteria for our target market of male and female recreational hikers.

 

Optitex 3D software was used to virtually pattern and prototype the jacket in order to decrease waste during the design process. Furthermore, the solar panels were tested for tensile strength, abrasion resistance, washability, and optimal energy harvesting.

 

The jacket has 9 panels in a 1amp circuit. It is made of natural cotton fibers - the shell is an original digital print on twill and the lining is sateen. Moreover, the jacket  has zippers for ventilation in the side seams (or to allow the jacket to be laid out flat for energy harvesting), has two internal pockets to house the battery and USB packs, and has the option to hide or show the back panels for functionality or style.

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In the news:

From Iowa State University College of Human Sciences:

     https://www.hs.iastate.edu/news/2017/05/11/solar-panel-jacket/

From Iowa Public Radio:

     http://iowapublicradio.org/post/isu-team-takes-jacket-designed-wearable-solar-panels-national-competition#stream/0

From KHOI Community Radio:

     http://archive.khoifm.org/pa_rss.php?id=localtalk7am 

From We Are Local 5 News:

     https://www.facebook.com/WeAreIowa/videos/1404549356258990/?pnref=story