On Wednesday, November 16 th Dr. Bruce Floersheim, WearRA Director of Operations, spoke to members of the Precious Metals Association (PMA) in Washington, D.C. at the Army-Navy Club. He was invited to inform the PMA members about the field of wearable robotics in general and the potential uses of silver within wearable robotic components in particular. Members represented that day included silver recyclers, precious metals commodities traders and refiners from the United States and Great Britain. During his presentation, Dr. Floersheim described the explosion of activity in this field, especially in Europe and Asia, with regards to concerted efforts in small/large business and even large state-run companies to create products for domestic and international use. Particular components that may include the use of silver at some point in the production stream include:
— RFID/Circuitry: Silver-based inks, films, contact coatings, palladium-sliver capacitors
— Switches: Silver membrane switches
— Power: Silver-based batteries could be an excellent replacement option for Lithium Ion
Batteries, which have been involved with safety-concerns recently.
-Silver-Oxide Batteries: The most common silver oxide battery is the small button-cell battery used in cameras, toys, hearing aids, watches and calculators. This size is approximately 35% silver by weight.
-Silver-Cadmium Batteries
-Silver-Zinc batteries
— Smart textiles: Approximately 90% of the silver employed as an industrial catalyst is used for the production of ethylene oxide, the foundation for plastics including polyester, a textile used in specialty clothing.