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Progress on solar-powered fabrics
April 1st, 2023
Pvilion’s Heavy Duty Portable Solar Canopy, a 2022 IAA award-winner, is a PVC-coated polyester canopy integrated with solar panels that can effectively power equipment, lighting, cell phones, laptops and other gear. Photo: Pvilion As a greener, increasingly high-tech world seeks ways to better optimize the power of the sun, textiles manufacturers are competing to be […]
Pvilion and Rensselaer developing robotics to manufacture rapidly deployable structures
March 1st, 2021
A project to develop robotics for the manufacturing of emergency shelters such as Pvilion’s rapidly deployable structures answers “a timely challenge in both manufacturing and health care,” according to senior research engineer Glenn Saunders. Illustrations: Pvilion. When tents are needed immediately—for disaster response, a public health crisis or a military action—time is of the essence. […]
Pandemic demand drives shade market
February 1st, 2021
While 2020 started as a disaster, pandemic-related business picked up substantially as the year went on. Fabric manufacturers such as Glen Raven Custom Fabrics LLC were among companies providing shade products, like the Sunbrella® fabric for these shade structures in Miami, Fla., as restaurants moved to outdoor dining. Photo: Glen Raven Custom Fabrics LLC. For […]
Breakthroughs in advanced textiles: robotic glove, energy harvesting, solar-powered structures, camouflaging wearable, decomposing t-shirt
July 1st, 2020
Robotic glove for hand paralysis San Francisco, Calif.-based technology start-up Neofect has developed a robotic glove to help patients suffering from paralysis. The product prototype, Neomano, is a smart glove designed for patient rehabilitation of the hand following a stroke, spinal cord injury or other condition that limits a patient’s ability to use his or […]
Solar-powered canopy captures the rhythm of Miami
June 1st, 2020
The Rhythm Foundation exists to bring international music to the U.S.It focuses on music from cultures that connect to South Florida includingLatin America, Brazil, the Caribbean, Africa and Europe. In 2015, the Miami, Fla.-based nonprofit was awarded management of the North Beach Bandshell, an open-air amphitheater in Miami Beach’s NorthBeach Historic District that’s been the […]
Solar encompasses endless possibilities
October 4th, 2019
“The building block is fabric, but there are a million possibilities to utilize solar,” says Pvilion founder and CEO Colin Touhey. Touhey gave an introductory presentation October 3 at Expo 2019 on cases for energy generation in fabric products. One of his first projects using solar cells in fabric was architectural in nature when he […]
A bright future: fabrics that generate electricity
July 1st, 2019
Pvilion’s Colin Touhey is working to forge strategic partnerships to integrate photovoltaic technology into all kinds of fabric products. by Jill C. Lafferty Every time you are building what you think is a one-off project, you’re probably going to do something similar a second time, a third time, a hundredth time,” says Colin Touhey, CEO […]
Working innovation: all successful companies innovate to grow, but each approach is unique
January 1st, 2019
If there were a formula for writing a hit song, we could all do it. Efforts have certainly been made to figure out just what’s required to reach the top of the charts, but there simply isn’t a single defined path that can be taken to ensure musical success. In manufacturing, businesses that look to […]
Going solar with Tommy Hilfiger
October 1st, 2018
Most people have had this experience: You are out in public and suddenly realize your smart phone battery desperately needs recharging, but there is nowhere to plug it in. Pvilion, a Brooklyn-based designer and manufacturer of flexible PV solar structures, and designer Tommy Hilfiger have collaborated to develop a solar-powered tote and clutch that provides […]
Multifunctional fabrics and material innovations
October 1st, 2017
What spurs innovation? Does the kernel of a new idea spring forth fully formed from the brow of a genius, or does it gestate over a long, arduous path involving sweat and heavy lifting? Maybe a bit of both, if you dig into the histories of new materials or processes. Often you will find that […]