Clothing

Everything from electronics to concrete is getting the self-healing treatment nowadays, but the technology rarely seems to make it to commercial products. Now, Imperial Motion is pitching a self-healing tent, made out of a proprietary material it calls Nano Cure Technology (NCT).

Zaha Hadid Architects has an impressive back catalog of work and is responsible for some of the world's most ambitious architecture of recent years. However, the firm's latest project is, on the face of it at least, a bit of a head-scratcher.

​When it comes to activities that pose difficulties for people with dementia, getting dressed is a big one. Not only can it be frustrating, but it can also be embarrassing, if they have to be helped in what is normally a private activity. It was this in mind that a new "smart" dresser was created.

​Paying extra for jeans that look like they're worn out might not be everyone's cup of tea, but if it's yours, then you may welcome the following news. Levi's has announced its new Project F.L.X. (future-led execution) program, intended to streamline the jean-"finishing" process – using lasers.

Though infant jaundice can be treated with light therapy, this involves the baby lying alone and naked inside an incubator. A new material could replace this uncomfortable experience, by instead wrapping them inside snug pajamas that radiate light inwards.

Keeping safe and comfortable in arctic conditions is a precarious balancing act, so scientists from Stanford University and the US Army Natick Soldier Research, Development & Engineering Center are working on energized fabrics that heat up when powered, yet wick away sweat and dry easily.

​Last year we saw a new direction for wearable electronics – mini-robots that could roam over a person’s body. Now the team has refined the technology with the launch of Project Kino that explores ways these kinetic wearables could open up new aesthetic and functional clothing possibilities.

A team at MIT has developed a material to make activewear a bit more active in cooling the wearer. The outfit is made out of a living “biofabric” full of microbial cells, which automatically open flaps in the shirt when they sense heat and sweat, to help the wearer cool off.

​​So, you don't like folding laundry or wearing wrinkly clothes. Well, the ThreadRobe may be what you're looking for. This wardrobe-on-steroids helps you select outfits based on the clothes that are casually tossed into it, then delivers those items to you freshly-steamed.​

If waddling about in full leathers isn't your idea of impressing the locals, there are a growing number of alternatives for motorcyclists that put comfort, style and protection in the same package – and Saint Unbreakable denim leads the pack on several fronts.

Startup Omius is creating a jacket that uses artificial intelligence and robotics to automatically adjust your personal temperature during changing weather and activity levels. This might just be the smartest (and eeriest) jacket you've ever seen.

​​If you don't like the thought of bugs crawling all over you, then you might not like one possible direction in which the field of wearable electronics is heading. Scientists recently showcased their new Rovables robots, which are tiny devices that roam up and down a person's clothing.