Battery-free solar blanket repels mosquitoes

A conundrum for smart textile developers is how to combine conductive materials and power sources with soft, flexible textiles. In the new light-emitting fabrics developed by Florida think tank Global Research and Discovery Group (GRDG) and Ashford Textiles^®, there are no power cords, batteries or chemicals powering their illumination. 

The technology that makes the blankets glow is embedded in the polyester fibers, which absorb UV and near-infrared wavelengths and give off light in the dark. The humanitarian-aid blanket glows green or blue, on a wavelength that repels mosquitoes.

The technology uses a proprietary crystal compound. Sunlight (or other bright light) charges electrons in the “nanoscale ‘pinwheels,’” which emit the energy as a soft glow that’s visible in the dark. The crystals can glow for up to eight hours and don’t wash out of the fibers. (For non-polymer fibers, the technology can be applied as a coating.) Green and blue are most visible in the dark, but the crystals can be created to emit any color.

In Project AURA (Advanced Ultraluminous Refuge Aid), the name for the technology’s humanitarian development mission, Dr. Roscoe M. Moore Jr., GRDG chief scientific advisor and former U.S. assistant surgeon general, tasked the team with addressing a dual challenge: provide free, sustainable light to those without access and protect them from one of the deadliest threats in the world—mosquito-borne diseases.

Understanding that need had previously come to GRDG founder, director and lead innovator Daryl Thompson, who once witnessed the aftermath of a mudslide that destroyed an entire village. The lack of light compounded the stress of the event, especially  for children.

The technology is primed for use in commercial products and humanitarian-aid blankets. The yellow- and green-light versions, called Night Glow, to be sold by Northwest Group, are planned for products such as children’s pajamas, athletic and safety items, and National Football League-branded décor, with the first products scheduled to come out in August.