Inspired by the Wallace and Gromit movie “The Wrong Trousers,” material scientists, computer programmers, and fabric designers around the world are working to advance the fashion industry at a rapid pace, moving us closer to a world where the clothes we wear will help us improve our daily lives.
“We’re sort of at the pre-iPhone announcement [stage],” said Yoel Fink, a materials science professor at MIT. “It’s very, very exciting.”
In June, researchers in Australia created robotic textile fibers, allowing fabric to move automatically. Last year, scientists at MIT made computer programmable threads and built fiber batteries using battery gels that could be put onto clothes and power robotic machines. It’s a sign that the technology is approaching maturity. The intelligence community announced in July that it is looking to develop smart clothes for soldiers and spies.
Researchers have said their work is at a turning point and could soon unlock an era where clothing will act more like electronics, sensing how your body feels and telling your clothes how to help. In the coming decade, scientists said, customers can expect a whole range of futuristic offerings — from pants that can help lift the elderly up to socks that can promote blood flow through automatic compression.
But Fink said design is one of its biggest challenges. “What could this fabric look like?” he asked. It should “look exactly, feel exactly, wear exactly, wash exactly like the fabric you’re wearing right now.” His lab is partnering with industrial designers from the Rhode Island School of Design to attack these key questions.
Rebecca Kramer-Bottiglio is a professor of mechanical engineering at Yale University. She agreed that many challenges remain before smart textiles “reach their full potential.” It will be challenging to make these clothes filled with fibers and technology durable enough to withstand multiple cycles in the laundry, she said.
She says researchers will figure out a way forward despite all this. “Recent breakthroughs toward a not-so-distant future where smart textiles will be a part of our everyday wardrobe.”
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“We’re sort of at the pre-iPhone announcement [stage],” said Yoel Fink, a materials science professor at MIT. “It’s very, very exciting.”
In June, researchers in Australia created robotic textile fibers, allowing fabric to move automatically. Last year, scientists at MIT made computer programmable threads and built fiber batteries using battery gels that could be put onto clothes and power robotic machines. It’s a sign that the technology is approaching maturity. The intelligence community announced in July that it is looking to develop smart clothes for soldiers and spies.
Researchers have said their work is at a turning point and could soon unlock an era where clothing will act more like electronics, sensing how your body feels and telling your clothes how to help. In the coming decade, scientists said, customers can expect a whole range of futuristic offerings — from pants that can help lift the elderly up to socks that can promote blood flow through automatic compression.
But Fink said design is one of its biggest challenges. “What could this fabric look like?” he asked. It should “look exactly, feel exactly, wear exactly, wash exactly like the fabric you’re wearing right now.” His lab is partnering with industrial designers from the Rhode Island School of Design to attack these key questions.
Rebecca Kramer-Bottiglio is a professor of mechanical engineering at Yale University. She agreed that many challenges remain before smart textiles “reach their full potential.” It will be challenging to make these clothes filled with fibers and technology durable enough to withstand multiple cycles in the laundry, she said.
She says researchers will figure out a way forward despite all this. “Recent breakthroughs toward a not-so-distant future where smart textiles will be a part of our everyday wardrobe.”
Source article:
Shapeshifting-robotic-clothes-could-help-people-stand-up-The-Washington-Post-7
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