How to Get the Most Charge out of a Coat #WearableWednesday #wearabletech #solar
Just when I thought I had seen the last solar jacket, another one arrives on the scene. This design from Junya Watanabe was spotted on a post on Independent. The placement of the vertical solar panels reminds me of the Tommy Hilfiger coat, although the classic colors are more like a match for Pauline van Dongen’s style. Although the post describes Watanabe as quirky, the coat seems to be very classically trench. However, the large grommet accents on the back are interesting and help create anchors for the panels. I could see this on the modern Dr. Who as it’s well suited for time travel considering it has its own power pack.
Although it has classy edges and coated cotton fabric, it will take more than Dr. Who to afford the almost $2,500 price tag. That’s why it’s good to consider hacking your own coat. You can create clear pockets to encase some of our solar panels. Check out our learning guide for a Solar Boost Bag and you’ll be able to convert your trench coat into a charging station. Of course a cycle jacket may look even cooler with all the plaid right now. Learning about solar energy can be fun and practical. Show us what you make!
Every Wednesday is Wearable Wednesday here at Adafruit! We’re bringing you the blinkiest, most fashionable, innovative, and useful wearables from around the web and in our own original projects featuring our wearable Arduino-compatible platform, FLORA. Be sure to post up your wearables projects in the forums or send us a link and you might be featured here on Wearable Wednesday!
Adafruit publishes a wide range of writing and video content, including interviews and reporting on the maker market and the wider technology world. Our standards page is intended as a guide to best practices that Adafruit uses, as well as an outline of the ethical standards Adafruit aspires to. While Adafruit is not an independent journalistic institution, Adafruit strives to be a fair, informative, and positive voice within the community – check it out here: adafruit.com/editorialstandards
Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell is every Wednesday at 7:30pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat and our Discord!
Every Wednesday is Wearable Wednesday here at Adafruit! We’re bringing you the blinkiest, most fashionable, innovative, and useful wearables from around the web and in our own original projects featuring our wearable Arduino-compatible platform, FLORA. Be sure to post up your wearables projects in the forums or send us a link and you might be featured here on Wearable Wednesday!