web-tab記事・クールビズを超えたエコ？ 太陽光発電ができるネクタイ「Solar tie」

http://www.web-tab.jp/article/3874
　これまでさまざまなガジェットを紹介してきた米国のブログ「ForeverGeek」の筆者―今回紹介するのは、太陽光発電が可能なネクタイ「Solar tie」だ。この情報を見た筆者は、「普段から使えるこんな商品がほしかった！」と大絶賛。「遠目に見たらスタイリッシュなただのネクタイだけど、近くで見たら驚くこと間違いなし。（裏側のポケットに）携帯電話などを入れておけば、充電だってできちゃうし」と大喜びの様子だ。
　筆者によると、米アイオワ州立大学の研究員らの手によるこのSolar tieは、まだコンセプト段階にあるという。「商品化したら、大ヒット間違いなし。iPod shuffleのアクセサリーにするなんてどうかな。商品名は…“iTie”なんてどう？」と盛り上がっている様子だが…。
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http://gizmodo.com/5038015/solar-powered-neck-tie-holds-powers-your-gadgets
A team of researchers at North Carolina State University have devised an ingenious way to charge your gadgets on the move: With solar powered clothing. The designs use a process called digital textile printing to leverage the blocky solar panels into neck ties and jackets. In the case of the tie there's even a hidden pocket to hold your device as it charges. Convenient. A five-day test found the clothing posed no significant health risk, including electric shock, although the neck tie design did have one major flaw. See if you can guess what it was.

Seems that solar panels, clothing-infused or not, are tough to tie in knots:

Application of the solar panels to the tie made it difficult to tie the knot. In typical tie knots, a small loop is created through which the large end of the tie is passed. At this step in the process, the physical width of the solar panel forces the user to enlarge their tie loop to allow the solar panel to pass through. The solar panels are limited to bending around a three inch diameter and should not be creased. Usage of narrower solar panels was considered, but there would be sacrifices in power generation. Applying solar panels to clip-on ties would eliminate this problem.

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