Original URL: https://www.theregister.com/2011/06/20/orange_t_shirt/

Orange spreads Glasto goofery to t-shirts

Extreme noise phone powerwear!

By Bill Ray

Posted in Networks, 20th June 2011 09:57 GMT

Orange has outdone itself with its traditional Glastonbury green-tech, this year touting a t-shirt which generates power from the gig itself and provides enough to charge a mobile phone.

The t-shirt uses a piezoelectric panel to convert vibrations into voltage, which is accumulated in a battery which can then be used to charge a phone. You'll need to hang out near a speaker for the whole weekend to generate enough for one charge cycle, though you wouldn't guess that from the video:

Reading the small print we find that over "the course of the weekend" the t-shirt might store six watt hours - which should be enough to recharge a smartphone, once, if you're lucky.

Last year Orange was touting wellies with chargers in the heel, and the year before it was personal windmills - all with the vague promise they'll become products eventually. We're not betting the t-shirt will achieve any greater success, but look forward to what Orange manages to throw together for next year's tech demonstration. ®