Smart Fabric

When producing "smart fabrics" made of conductive fibers, it can be difficult placing functional elements such as electrodes in specific locations along those fibers. A new polymer, however, could make doing so much easier.

In order to monitor their wearers' movements, smart fabrics typically incorporate strain-measuring sensors. And while such sensors are often impractically fragile, Harvard University scientists have created a new one that can really take a beating.

Imagine if your tablecloth could alert you to the whereabouts of misplaced items, or track your diet? Those things and more may soon be possible, thanks to a new "smart" fabric being developed at New Hampshire's Dartmouth College.

If a 3D printer leaves gaps in the plastic that it deposits, it's usually thought of as an unwanted flaw. Now, however, the process has been harnessed to quickly and cheaply produce pliable polymer textiles.

A Yale team has developed a new “robotic fabric” that can change its shape and stiffness on demand or by sensing its environment. The material could one day be used in high-tech clothing, tents that set themselves up, or robotic parachutes.

When it comes to tracking an athlete's performance, a single wearable sensor doesn't always provide much information, yet multiple hard-wired sensors restrict movement. That's a where a new sensor suit comes in – and it's powered by a smartphone.

There are now several experimental "smart fabrics," capable of detecting the wearer's respiration or heartbeat via deformations in the material. A new one is claimed to work better, by utilizing transmission lines instead of individual sensors.

Although we've recently seen numerous "electronic skin" sensor patches that monitor the wearer's vital signs, the things do have their drawbacks. Scientists at MIT have therefore developed an alternative, in the form of a vitals-monitoring shirt.

The more clothing that you wear, the warmer you are … right? Well actually, scientists have developed a new textile that both warms wearers in cold environments, and cools them down when things heat up.

​Squids, octopi and cuttlefish are able to change the color of their skin thanks to specialized cells known as chromatophores. Scientists have now replicated the manner in which those cells work, resulting in a flexible material that can either trap or release heat as needed.

​People with insomnia sometimes undergo sleep studies, in which they slumber in a clinic while wired to various sensors – perhaps not the best way to replicate their typical sleeping environment. Soon, however, they may simply be able to wear electronic pyjamas, which are currently in development.

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.