ORC named as EU innovation partner in new 4M euro Horizon 2020 project

Smart2Go, a collaboration between the Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC) at the University of Southampton, and eight EU innovation partners, launched in January this year.

The 36 month 4 million-euro project, funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme and led by the Fraunhofer Institute for Organic Electronics, aims to develop an autonomous energy-supply platform, whereby wearables will last their entire lifetime without the need for recharging. The widespread introduction of wearable devices is expected to be one of the major trends in upcoming decades. With first applications already entering the market, the future of wearables will generate completely new opportunities for sensing, mobile data storage, wireless communication and the internet-of-things.

However, there are many technological challenges, with geometries and state-of-the-art components limiting design and appearance. Making devices thinner, safer, flexible and easy-to-integrate is the major focus of current research and development. The energy supply to wearable devices is probably the most serious challenge and one that Smart2Go aims to overcome. The Smart2Go energy-supply platform will consist of a versatile battery integrated with appropriate energy harvesting technologies. Professor Hewak and his research group at the ORC will contribute one of the energy harvesting technologies using thermoelectric generation, providing uninterrupted power through body heat. This will expand on previous research demonstrated by Dr Katrina Morgan in the EPSRC-funded Wearable and Flexible Technology Project (WAFT).

The performance of the Smart2Go energy supply platform will be demonstrated in two application cases: sport equipment integrating Smart2Go platform and pressure sensitive array; and safety garments integrating Smart2Go platform and lighting technologies (OLEDs). These represent a challenge for the demonstration of the Smart2Go platform reliability in extreme environments and a proof of technical feasibility of Smart2Go solutions.

Further industrial potential will be identified through linking additional applications via a Smart2Go design competition, which will seek other applications for the technology and through an External Advisory Board (EAB), set up with the aim to support the exploration of new applications and end-user interaction; engagement with industrial integrators and manufacturers; standardisation and pre-normative activities; and networking with SME associations.

Professor Daniel Hewak and Dr Katrina Morgan of the ORC attended the kick-off meeting, held at Fraunhofer FEP Institute in Dresden, Germany, earlier this year.

More information about the Smart2Go project can be found at www.smart2go-project.eu (full version available in April 2019).

Contact: Dr. Matthias Fahland, coordinator, Fraunhofer Institute for Electron Beam and Plasma Technology, matthias.fahland@fep.fraunhofer.de Elena Turco, project manager, AMIRES s.r.o., turco@amires.eu

This project has received funding from the European Union Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 825143, project Smart2Go.