Researchers and scientists worldwide are trying to implement robots into our clothes to help our health and improve our daily lives.
This idea was inspired by the Wallace and Gromit clay-animated movie, “The Wrong Trousers,” where advanced pants allowed the user to walk on walls and ceilings. Researchers from England have tried to make clothes that could help the user. Maybe not to step on walls or ceilings, but support the health of the wearer. Our version is to help disabled people get up or help blood circulation with air tubes inserted into their clothes.
This idea started a chain reaction of many university labs to build technology like this, with material scientists, computer programmers, and fabric designers all contributing to this cause. They all want to make a type of clothing that will benefit our health by wearing it.
Researchers have programmed robots into the very fibers of clothes. In June of this year, researchers in Australia created robotic textile fibers, which allow the fibers to move on their own. Other places like MIT have done similar things with robotic textile fibers.
Scientists have stated that it will help disabled and older adults with movement like getting up and around. These robotic shirts will also help improve pregnancy outcomes, and the robotic textile fibers can be implemented in socks, pants, and shirts.
These clothing will be connected to the smartphones we use today, and companies have started releasing the clothes. For example, Google partnered with brands like Levi’s, Yves Saint Laurent, and Adidas to put sensors in all types of equipment, not just clothing but the fabrics in backpacks and shoes. The clothes have unique features like swiping a sleeve to change music and vibrations to improve health and posture.
The clothing also feels comfortable, like real clothes. “What could this fabric look like?” said Fink, a researcher from MIT. It should “look exactly, feel exactly, wear exactly, wash exactly like the fabric you’re wearing right now.” He wants the clothing to withstand the washing and drying processes and still be usable. Another problem they will have to overcome is the weight of the clothes and durable robotic fibers.
“Recent breakthroughs,” she said, “point toward a not-so-distant future where smart textiles will be a part of our everyday wardrobe.”
Source: https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2022/jul/29/slowly-but-surely-robots-will-wind-up-in-our-cloth/
This idea was inspired by the Wallace and Gromit clay-animated movie, “The Wrong Trousers,” where advanced pants allowed the user to walk on walls and ceilings. Researchers from England have tried to make clothes that could help the user. Maybe not to step on walls or ceilings, but support the health of the wearer. Our version is to help disabled people get up or help blood circulation with air tubes inserted into their clothes.
This idea started a chain reaction of many university labs to build technology like this, with material scientists, computer programmers, and fabric designers all contributing to this cause. They all want to make a type of clothing that will benefit our health by wearing it.
Researchers have programmed robots into the very fibers of clothes. In June of this year, researchers in Australia created robotic textile fibers, which allow the fibers to move on their own. Other places like MIT have done similar things with robotic textile fibers.
Scientists have stated that it will help disabled and older adults with movement like getting up and around. These robotic shirts will also help improve pregnancy outcomes, and the robotic textile fibers can be implemented in socks, pants, and shirts.
These clothing will be connected to the smartphones we use today, and companies have started releasing the clothes. For example, Google partnered with brands like Levi’s, Yves Saint Laurent, and Adidas to put sensors in all types of equipment, not just clothing but the fabrics in backpacks and shoes. The clothes have unique features like swiping a sleeve to change music and vibrations to improve health and posture.
The clothing also feels comfortable, like real clothes. “What could this fabric look like?” said Fink, a researcher from MIT. It should “look exactly, feel exactly, wear exactly, wash exactly like the fabric you’re wearing right now.” He wants the clothing to withstand the washing and drying processes and still be usable. Another problem they will have to overcome is the weight of the clothes and durable robotic fibers.
“Recent breakthroughs,” she said, “point toward a not-so-distant future where smart textiles will be a part of our everyday wardrobe.”
Source: https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2022/jul/29/slowly-but-surely-robots-will-wind-up-in-our-cloth/
