VitalWear: Fabricating Textile-Based Biofuel Cells Towards Sweat-Powered Wearables

We present VitalWear, a textile-based approach for fabricating biofuel cells that harness human sweat to generate electrical energy. The fabrication approach leverages layered stencil printing with functional inks on substrate textiles. We present textile-based garment integrations that generate power from perspiration in daily activities. We discuss the unique wearability factors for sweat-powered wearables, focusing on the balance between comfort and energy performance. This exploration opens avenues for fabricating textile-based biofuel cells to harvest sweat as an energy source for wearable computing.

Publication:

VitalWear: Fabricating Textile-Based Biofuel Cells Towards Sweat-Powered Wearables
Jingwen Zhu, Pin-Sung Ku, Kaitlyn Beiler, Ruth Zhao, Lily Winagle, Cindy Hsin-Liu Kao✉
Proceedings of the 2024 ACM International Symposium on Wearable Computers (ISWC) 2025
PDF | DOI | Project Page

Project Credits:
Hybrid Body Lab at Cornell University, directed by Cindy Hsin-Liu Kao
Research Team: Jingwen Zhu (Lead Researcher), Pin-Sung Ku, Kaitlyn Beiler, Ruth Zhao, Lily Winagle, Cindy Hsin-Liu Kao (Lab Director)

This project is funded by the National Science Foundation IIS-2047249, Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability Academic Venture Fund and AATCC Foundation Student Research Support Grant.