Clothing

​For apartment-dwellers who don't like going to laundromats, there are already compact washing machines – but what happens when the washed clothes need to be dried? Well, that's where the diminutive Morus Zero comes in.

Researchers at the University of Maryland (UMD) have developed a new material that senses how warm a person’s body is and automatically adjusts how much heat it traps or releases.

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.