Recently, a pair of pants in a movie has been inspiring different technology researchers, sparking many ideas. The film “The Wrong Trousers” featured a pair of futuristic pants that allowed people to walk on walls and ceilings. Researchers in England said that the film inspired them to think of how robotic clothing could help society. And with that idea, they created a pair of pants that could help the elderly or disabled up the stairs by adding electrical pumps to force air into tiny tubes that expand and provide blood flow.

Now university labs across the world, material scientists, computer programmers and fabric designers are all looking into advancing robotic clothing in order to help us reach a reality where the clothes we wear help us keep healthy or improve daily life.

“We’re sort of at the pre-iPhone announcement [stage],” said Yoel Fink, a materials science professor at MIT. “It’s very, very exciting.”

Australian researchers created robotic textile fibers, which can make fabric move automatically in June. Last year, scientists at MIT fabricated computer programmable threads and built fiber batteries. Technology is slowly approaching maturity and researchers are starting to design smart clothing for soldiers and spies. Soon clothing will act more like a computer, sensing how your body feels and telling your clothes how to help.

Scientists expect that in the future, there will be a variety of offerings that people can choose from depending on their different types of needs.