The prospect of smart clothing is something I’ve touched on numerous times over the years, as technology has progressed such that various sensors can be embedded in the garments to monitor our health and fitness. The latest example of the possibilities was provided by research from Purdue University, which shows how existing cloth can be transformed into wearables that are not only battery-free but also resistant to laundry.
The garments, which are powered wirelessly via a silk-based coil that’s sewn into the textile, are part of what the researchers believe is a transformation of clothing from passive garments into smart fabrics that can do everything from monitor our health to communicate with our devices.
Smart clothing
The researchers suggest that such features are not common in clothing today in large part because the fabrication of such garments is challenging, not least due to the frequent washing of our clothes. They believe they’ve overcome this challenge via a new method that can transform conventional clothing into battery-free wearables that can comfortably exist in the washing machine.
“By spray-coating smart clothes with highly hydrophobic molecules, we are able to render them repellent to water, oil and mud,” the researchers say. “These smart clothes are almost impossible to stain and can be used underwater and washed in conventional washing machines without damaging the electronic components sewn on their surface.”
The authors argue that many waterproof garments on the market today can be uncomfortable to wear for prolonged periods, not least due to their reduced breathability. It’s a problem they believe they’ve overcome.
“Thanks to their ultrathin coating, our smart clothes remain as flexible, stretchable, and breathable as conventional cotton T-shirts,” they say.
Battery-less clothing
A key breakthrough is the lack of any need for batteries to power the clothing, as energy is simply harvested from either WiFi or the radio waves that exist in the environment. This enables the clothes to power the circuitry that is sewn into the textile.
An example of the technology in use is provided in the image, with a battery-free glove illuminating its fingertips whenever it goes near a live cable, which the researchers suggest illustrates the potential for the technology to be used in health and safety ways.
“Such wearable devices, powered by ubiquitous Wi-Fi signals, will make us not only think of clothing as just a garment that keeps us warm but also as wearable tools designed to help us in our daily life, monitor our health, and protect us from accidents,” the researchers say.
