New Battery Can Be Bent, Stretched, and Twisted

As researchers eye flexible form factors for mobile and electronic devices of the future, it makes sense that engineers also are working to invent batteries and other components that also can stretch to accommodate these designs. To that end, a team of researchers in Switzerland has developed a battery that can be bent, stretched, and twisted, making it well-suited for these future devices, said Markus Niederberger, professor for multifunctional materials at ETH Zurich, where the research was conducted. A prototype of a flexible battery developed by researchers at ETH Zurich that can potentially be used for flexible electronic and mobile devices of the future. (Image source: ETH Zurich/Peter Rüegg) “Imagine that you can roll up your cell phone or tablet and put it in your pocket,” he told Design News. “In the cell phones and tablets we use today, the battery takes up the whole space of the device; i.e., the battery has basically the same size like the screen. If you want to roll or bend such a device, you also have to be able to bend or stretch the battery.” Niederberger said the company took a unique approach to design the battery that allowed them to build it layer by layer of flexible components, something that has historically been nearly impossible to achieve. “In the scientific literature, there is a lot of work on the individual components that are made flexible,&a...
Source: MDDI - Category: Medical Devices Tags: Design News Source Type: news