California researchers develop body-temp camouflage
12/03/2020
With a surface that can go from 10 to 38 degrees Celsius (50 to 100.5 degrees Fahrenheit) in under a minute, the device quickly cools or heats to match ambient temperatures, thereby camouflaging the wearer’s body heat. The inside stays the same temperature as human skin. The wireless device, which is at proof-of-concept stage, can be embedded into fabric, such as an armband, or eventually worn as a jacket.
The team was led by UC San Diego mechanical and aerospace engineering professor Renkun Chen, and their work was recently published in the journal Advanced Functional Materials.
As reported by the UC San Diego news centre, the technology uses materials that can create heating or cooling effects when the ambient temperature changes, and flexible electronics that can be embedded into clothing.
The device’s outer layer, detailed last year in the journal Science Advances, is made of thermoelectric alloys between elastomer sheets. Powered by a battery and controlled by a wireless circuit board, the device physically cools or heats to a temperature of the wearer’s choosing.
Currently researchers can manage a jacket that weighs 2 kilograms, is too thick, and can only work for an hour. Their current goal is to develop a lighter and thinner option.
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