Faraday Flashligh = Cell Phone Charger?

[Raswelsta]

Hi,
I am an engineering student, and I have an idea for a project, but I am not sure if it is viable. I want to make an article of clothing such as a jacket with several mini faraday flashlight-esque devices inside. They would be connected, and would charge a cell phone or other electronic device. My question is, can sporadic electrical charge be be accumulated so as to effectively charge a 3.7 volt battery? Also, how many induction devices would it take to make this device feasible? Any additional thought, comments and criticisms are very welcome and appreciated. Thanks.

 

[berkeman]

"Energy Harvesting" from clothing is a current area of investigation:

http://www.google.com/search?source...othing&gs_upl=0l0l0l9068lllllllllll0&aqi=g-v1

You might be able to get enough energy to charge a cell phone, but keep in mind that many battery technologies work best if they are discharged pretty far before recharging. You would likely be limited to just some battery chemistries (which ones?) if you wanted to continuously trickle charge the phone. An alternative would be to charge one battery while using a 2nd battery in the phone...