11 August 2011

ANU building solar powered soldiers

| johnboy
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Batteries are becoming the bane of the modern soldier’s existence, so there is sure to be considerable interest in ANU’s latest work on light wearable solar panels to rev up all the gadgets the modern soldier on the go is being asked to lug:

“The development of these wearable solar cells will now allow soldiers to generate power in the field and reduce the need for batteries for their electronic devices. They will also establish a power supply that keeps electronic devices operational throughout the duration of missions,” he said.

According to the project’s Chief Investigator Professor Andrew Blakers, SLIVER solar cell technology developed by ANU, and now commercialised by Transform, form the basis of the wearable solar panels.

“SLIVER cells have enabled the construction of efficient, rugged, flexible and light weight portable modules that convert light directly into electricity under a wide range of environmental conditions,” he said.

“These cells have the same thickness of a sheet of paper or a human hair. This means they are flexible, lightweight and allow high power to weight ratios to be achieved. The cells are also bifacial, allowing modules to be constructed that allow light to be absorbed from both faces.”

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Another marketing hype. SLIVER has been around for ages and still no commercial product yet! Make us something that we can buy and put on our roofs!!!

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