Garment level power distribution for wearables using inductive power transfer

Worgan, Paul; Fraser, Mike

Abstract

© 2016 IEEE. Wearable and smart devices are gaining in popularity, with many users now using multiple devices. Each of these devices requires individual charging and power maintenance. This paper proposes power sharing between multiple wearables to alleviate some of the burden of charging multiple devices. To achieve wearable and smart device power sharing, we propose using the garments we wear as a power distribution backbone. To allow non-contact power transfer between garments, bi-directional inductive power transfer is used. We demonstrate a novel coil topology called Feed Coils constructed from flexible materials to aid garment integration and user comfort. Our system complies with international guidelines on time-varying magnetic field exposure to human tissue, allowing the system to be operated in close proximity to the body. Three preliminary experiments are conducted to characterize the bi-directional inductive power sharing system and to investigate the feasibility and human factors impacting wearable and smart device power sharing.

• Presentation Conference Type: Conference Paper (published)
• Conference Name: Proceedings - 2016 9th International Conference on Human System Interactions, HSI 2016
• Acceptance Date: Apr 8, 2016
• Publication Date: Aug 2, 2016
• Deposit Date: Jun 3, 2019
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 3, 2019
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Pages: 277-283
• Book Title: 2016 9th International Conference on Human System Interactions (HSI)
• ISBN: 9781509017294
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/HSI.2016.7529644
• Keywords: smart clothing, inductive power transfer, power sharing, wearable
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/909184
• Publisher URL: http://doi.org/10.1109/HSI.2016.7529644
• Additional Information: Title of Conference or Conference Proceedings : 9th International Conference on Human System Interactions (HSI 2016)
• Contract Date: Jun 3, 2019