Coming soon: solar-powered soldiers

Army uniforms could be fitted with solar panels to allow soldiers to generate power in the field and charge batteries for radios, phones and laptops under a project being funded by the Defence Force.

The panels, being developed by researchers at the Australian National University, rely on thin, flexible elongated solar cells and could potentially be fitted onto helmets, uniforms or radios. They could help address a growing problem for the modern soldier: the need to power an increasing number of portable electric devices without getting weighed down by batteries.
The developer, Dr Igor Skryabin, from the ANU’s Centre for Sustainable Energy Systems, said the cells could be finished within two years.

“The problem facing the modern defence force at the moment is over-reliance on batteries,” Dr Skryabin said.

“Soldiers are equipped with lots of electronic devices. While you can transmit data wirelessly, you cannot transmit energy wirelessly … The only thing reliable anywhere in the world is light. The best thing to do is to find a way to convert light into electricity.”

Sydney Morning Herald