SmartClothing
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Spider silk and stem-cell leather are the future of fashion
On Sunday, there were no cars in Paris as the city clamped down on soaring pollution and tried to honor the climate accord that bears its name. With Paris Fashion Week here too, garment makers must face their own part in the planet's despoilment. An incubator called Fashion Tech Labs (FTL) is trying to break the textile pollution cycle with new tech like stem-cell leather, recycled fabrics and ultra-strong spider-silk-based fibers. At Google's Paris Arts & Culture Center, I had a look at some of the tech and talked with FTL and the event's esteemed host, sustainable designer and fashion icon Stella McCartney.
Indycar driver tests smart shirt to track the perils of racing
Japanese mobile giant NTT DoCoMo's Data arm has revealed that it quietly tested its futuristic smart clothing during Indycar races last year. The firm teamed up with driver Tony Kanaan to create a version of its Hitoe garment that's suitable for use in the sport. As before, the shirt is capable of monitoring its wearer's heart rate and muscle activity, learning valuable insights on how the competition affects the body. For instance, Kanaan's heart rate was found to spike when he brought the car to a stop, and while driving, had the same physical stresses as someone who was sprinting.
ICYMI: Pig organ donors, 3D-printed car fashion and more
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-994956{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-994956, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-994956{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-994956").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: Gene researchers published a paper detailing how they removed DNA sequences from pig cells that are normally harmful to humans, which could eventually lead to pig organs successfully being used in humans. No word on how the pigs feel about that. A clothing line made to synchronize with Audi at a car show put vehicle sensors within the clothing, reacting when people got near. And MIT's Media Lab continues its work with a kinetic energy machine that can react to people waving a hand over it. It's half art, half mesmerizing.
High-tech fabric can take a beating and lead to tough smart clothing
To be able to make smart clothing like Ralph Lauren's shirt for athletes, you need fabric embedded with sensors and circuitry. Engineers from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University have designed one such type of fabric, and based on its test results, it has the potential to evolve into material superhero costumes are made of. According to the paper published in Proceedings of the Royal Society, the researchers tested the fabric's durability not only by folding and wrinkling it, but also by washing it, repeatedly stretching it to its limits and even shooting bullets at it. They found that the cloth, knitted with wiring as you can see above, could withstand extreme abuse before it even begins to break down.
Japanese 'smart clothing' uses nanofibers to monitor your heart-rate (video)
Japanese mobile carrier NTT Docomo and materials developer Toray have been working on joint projects for a while and now they're publicly announcing one. Welcome Hitoe (Japanese for "one layer"), cloth that contains Toray's nanofibers that are coated in a transmittable layer. It's not the orange cloth (that's just standard material), but the nicotine-patch sized square you attach to it that does the sensing. Place two of these on you and they'll act as electrodes, measuring your heartbeat and even offering metrics resembling a cardiogram. The plan is to connect this cleanly non-invasive health monitor to NTT Docomo's health app platform that's already on its smartphones, developing practical... soft... hardware for sale alongside it. The pitch didn't just include sports clothing, however, with pajamas and other sleepwear planned for launch. Look! There's even a little hat! The sensors will apparently survive tumbles in the washing machine and, having seen an earlier prototype late last year, we can confirm that the patches are suitably lightweight and flexible -- now the work is down to reducing that lumpy hub sensor that we also spotted. Wearable gadgets might finally be going subtle. There's a quick video from our allies at Engadget Japanese after the break.
Scientists create sweat-monitoring underwear, break them in (video)
Biochip bracelets be damned -- nanoengineers at UC San Diego want to put sensors in your skivvies. Researchers have begun prototyping a pair of tighty-whiteys coated with the requisite carbon electrodes to make electrochemical computing a reality, as it turns out the nether regions are a prime place to measure chemicals excreted in one's sweat. Until recently, there was some question whether the enzyme sensor solution would handle the stresses of daily life, so to speak, but these briefs were up to the task -- subjected to a torturous gauntlet of bending and stretching, a treated elastic waistband was still able to adequately measure chemicals as required. Funded by the U.S. Office of Naval Research, project leaders envision "smart underwear" that measures a soldier's sweat for warning signs and automatically trigger an appropriate medical dosage. We think they might be getting a wee bit ahead of themselves, though -- we don't yet know how they handle detergent, let alone a quality color-safe bleach. Video after the break, but don't expect any footage of the underpants actually being worn.
