“Wait, didn’t his shirt just say, what, now its a picture, what the heck?” It’s a future coming soon as organic photovoltaic solar and LED technologies continue to advance. This would be the goal of wearable solar, a still novel technology that is quickly gaining foot.

EroGear for Gizmodo from John Ellenich on Vimeo.

Flexible solar panels already are being incorporated into backpacks hats, coats and sunglasses. But newer solar technologies are allowing photovoltaics to be sprayed on, woven into or dyed into fabrics.

Making someone’s clothes a walking solar-powered billboard in the heart of Times Square New York or on the strip in Vegas, might seem like a waste of cutting-edge technology, but its not the only use of photovoltaic fabrics. For instance, the U.S. Army’s Natick Soldier Systems Center is looking into photovoltaic fabrics to help power advanced electronics, like communications devices and combat computers that are carried by soldiers. The Army also is looking into using shade fabrics to provide solar power for operations.

The use of organic photovoltaics in these fabrics allow the Army to produce energy where it’s not normally available. The photovoltaic camouflage above will help reduce the weight of batteries that soldiers carry. Similarly, the PowerShade allows the Army to quickly set up a remote station that can be used to power equipment without a generator or large battery packs.

Civilians on the other hand, already are able to buy backpacks, brief cases and bags with built-in flexible solar panels. Bags with photovoltaic panels are used to power personal electronics and even laptop computers. But these still use obvious photovoltaic panels. Voltaic and Noon Solar have lines of bags and satchels with integrated photovoltaics suited for charging mobile devices. They also have a laptop bag capable of charging a laptop. The bags have an integrated battery and connections for multiple personal devices as well as holes for headphones.

However, photovoltaic-integrated clothing is moving forward. For instance, Goose Design and PDD developed the Illum cycling jacket, which is an illuminated biking jacket powered by a photovoltaic panel in the back. Still just a concept, this jacket shows how an integrated photovoltaic can be masked in the fabric so it becomes almost invisible.

But photovoltaic clothes of the near future will become truly invisible parts of the clothes. That’s thanks to flexible-organic polymer based photovoltaics. They are carbon-based solar cells with inorganic photoreactive compounds and can be basically printed on or sewn into clothing. The fabric in the picture on the left and around the waist of the model on the right contains a printed photovoltaic material.

Organic photovoltaics do not have the lifespan, nor are they as efficient as silicone or thin-film photovoltaics. But they are very cheap to produce and could also be used in badges, identification cards and other potentially disposable items. Their effectiveness is boosted by nanotechnology.

Until recently, organic solar cells were only able to convert about 2% of the sun’s energy into electricity, but one company, Solarmer Energy has achieved 7.9% conversion efficiency as rated by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in February 2010. The company plans to start producing solar fabrics later in 2010.

Another firm, Konarka Technologies, has developed a solar wire, which could be woven into fabrics and used to transmit electricity. The company is working with other companies and the armed forces in the U.S. to to bring its technology to the consumer and industrial markets.

These technologies are helping to revolutionize how we think of solar power in the future and how we use it. By incorporating photovoltaics into fabrics awnings, shade cloth curtains and more, they could help power lights inside homes and businesses. And by incorporating LED displays, they could create self-powered illuminating business signs. We’re coming closer than ever before to making technology as magic.