In an animated movie called “The Wrong Trousers,” advanced pants allow people to walk upside down and sideways.
Researchers in England say that the movie inspired them to invent “The Right Trousers,” pants lodged with electric pumps that create tiny expandable tubes filled with air that can help disabled or elderly people improve blood circulation.
Now, in labs around the world, material scientists, computer programmers, and fabric designers are working to create and improve robotic clothing that help us stay healthy or boost daily life.
This June, scientists made robotic cloth fibers which make fabric move robotically in Australia. In 2021, MIT researchers made computer-programmable threads and created fiber batteries with gel batteries. The fiber batteries can become part of clothing to power robotic fabrics.
In recent years, there have been companies making smart clothes. Google has partnered with Levi’s, Yves Saint Laurent, and Adidas, putting sensors in clothes, shoes, and backpacks, allowing access to phones instantly. Fashion technology company Wearable X created yoga pants that improve posture. But these are only the first bit of smart clothes, and researchers are working to advance them.
At the University of New South Wales in Australia, scientists are making textiles that shapeshift. They have created miniscule silicon tubes, roughly the size of yarn, that can be woven into textiles. The tubes can make many preprogrammed shapes, and are triggered by thermal or electrical stimulation.
To make robotic clothing actually transformational, though, computing power must be within the cloth. It’s needed inside because they direct the clothes and monitor physiological signs.
“Software is going to determine what services you’re receiving,” said Yoel Fink, a materials science professor at MIT, “and that thing is going to look like your T-shirt and your pants that you’re wearing right now.”
Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/07/29/robot-clothes/
Researchers in England say that the movie inspired them to invent “The Right Trousers,” pants lodged with electric pumps that create tiny expandable tubes filled with air that can help disabled or elderly people improve blood circulation.
Now, in labs around the world, material scientists, computer programmers, and fabric designers are working to create and improve robotic clothing that help us stay healthy or boost daily life.
This June, scientists made robotic cloth fibers which make fabric move robotically in Australia. In 2021, MIT researchers made computer-programmable threads and created fiber batteries with gel batteries. The fiber batteries can become part of clothing to power robotic fabrics.
In recent years, there have been companies making smart clothes. Google has partnered with Levi’s, Yves Saint Laurent, and Adidas, putting sensors in clothes, shoes, and backpacks, allowing access to phones instantly. Fashion technology company Wearable X created yoga pants that improve posture. But these are only the first bit of smart clothes, and researchers are working to advance them.
At the University of New South Wales in Australia, scientists are making textiles that shapeshift. They have created miniscule silicon tubes, roughly the size of yarn, that can be woven into textiles. The tubes can make many preprogrammed shapes, and are triggered by thermal or electrical stimulation.
To make robotic clothing actually transformational, though, computing power must be within the cloth. It’s needed inside because they direct the clothes and monitor physiological signs.
“Software is going to determine what services you’re receiving,” said Yoel Fink, a materials science professor at MIT, “and that thing is going to look like your T-shirt and your pants that you’re wearing right now.”
Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/07/29/robot-clothes/
