Ruth Zhao
ART
RESEARCH
POETRY
VitalThreads
Envisioning self-sustaining wearable technology using biofuel cells.
Summer 2024
Genre
Skills
Interaction Design, Mechanical Engineering, Concept Iteration
Research — Cornell Hybrid Body Lab
Time
Context
Devices with batteries has always been the default. Here, we want to explore a paradigm shift: how we can re-shape a new form of human-computer symbiosis by generating
energy from the body?
FIG 01. Intersection of design space
Mechanism
The biofuel standard: in enzymatic anodes, enzymes allow for oxidation of biofuel in sweat that release electrons. The catalytic anodes accept these electrons to complete the circuit.
FIG 02. Electrochemical reaction of biofuel cells
FIG 03. Electrode structure of biofuel cells
Ideation
Envisioning the ideal shape for a wrist adhering PCB: since the textile must trace back to the PCB, the hard form of the device had to conform to the body.
However, the overall direction of the project shifted when we realized participants felt more comfortable with the PCB hidden, leading to softer more textile based designs.
Setup
Demo of the sample testing and charging setup. Under ideal circumstances, we see enough energy to keep a CASIO watch running just through sweat!
FIG 04. Super capacitor PCB
FIG 04. Supercapacitor PCB
FIG 05. Charged supercapacitor power supply
Fabrication
To fabricate the biofuel fabrics, silver/silver chloride inks (cathodes) are essentially stencil printed onto the textiles. The functional ink (anodes) is then applied evenly over it.
FIG 06. Fabrication process
Application
We designed two primary applications that can be described with our defined design space shown below:
FIG 07. Hankerchief
FIG 08. Beanie
This research presented here was also accepted for the 2025 UIST conference.
Research under guidance of:
The Cornell Hybrid Body Lab
Special Thanks to:
Jingwen Zhu, Professor Cindy Kao
Publication & Acknowledgements