The Solar Handbag

Luxury handbags become portable power stations when miniaturized solar cells and embroideries are combined, enabling you to charge your cell phone on-the-go and turn lights on inside the bag to help you find your keys or other personal belongings.

The Software Corridor supports the Solar Handbag project in which the Alexandra Institute has teamed up with DELTA, Danish design company Diffus Design and Swiss embroidery company Forster Rohner AG.

The Solar Handbag constitutes an attempt to create a modern accessory that fits fashionable women who put as much emphasis on design as on function. The bag contains one hundred small solar power stations incorporated in a stylish embroidery containing conductive thread. The solar power cells generate enough energy for charging a mobile phone and a small battery hidden inside the bag. When the bag is opened, a number of optical fibers embroidered on the inside are activated and give out a diffuse glow assisting you to find your keys, purse and so on.

The embedded technology of the bag is emphasized as decoration: the solar cells are used as sequins on the bag and thus emphasize the intelligent layer that gives the bag its special power-generating qualities. It is thus not just a matter of practicality; the bag also serves to communicate that the owner is both environment-conscious and independent.

The bag is the first in a trilogy; the partners are currently working on a so-called memory bag that will alert the owner if she leaves the house without e.g. her keys or purse, and a green aware bag that will visualize the energy consumption in your home.

The technology behind the Solar Handbag.

The Solar Handbag illustrates the first development step towards highly efficient, textile based photovoltaics. The first generation of solar elements shows an efficiency of 9% when converting solar energy into electrical energy. Overall, the solar elements distributed on The Solar Handbag are able to generate 2 Watts, more than enough energy to charge a cell phone, even at low daily exposure to sunlight. The next generation of solar elements is already promising – the new developments will double the efficiency.

The partners have been working with the following technologies:

• Solar cells
• Soft, conductive embroidery
• Energy storage
• Energy harvesting
• Optical fibers
• Textiles

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