Smart Fabrics: Embedding Technology Into Textiles For Enhanced Functionality
Smart textiles are a new synergy between fashion and technology; clothes that can change colour, or even fabric that can monitor your heart rate is the stuff of fashionable science fiction. Sound exciting? Well, not always…
But, one negative factor is that they require special washing instructions and their high prices won’t come cheap, however the industry is still flourishing and is set to do the same in the following years.
Temperature regulation
By putting sensor arrays within the fabric, these smart textiles can also control the amount of heat allowed through them by sending wireless signals from the textile to a computer or other device, such as a mobile phone. With their inclusion of various sensors to detect temperature, heat, light, pressure, movement and other stimuli, smart fabrics can execute feedback and reactions based on signals received from the environment and users. These kind of performative textiles were pioneered in Japan, with the Lightwear project (2008) developed by two Japanese artists, Shingo Kido and Kian Goh. They used these sensorised textiles to control the electronic components of their artworks – mainly textile displays, microvibrating devices or organic light-emitting diode (OLED) – and to enable interaction between creators, performers and spectators.
Some of these devices might connect to a smart textile sensor integration for direct interaction, and others might use a middle device, such as a smartphone, for live tracking and interaction with it, while others might collect user data and post directly on the user’s social media or online services for sharing.
Smart fabrics are now being harnessed by fashion designers who use fabrics that, for example, become or fluoresce as a result of wearer movement or illumination. Within this wider scope, smart fabric technology has been deployed for functional uses such as sportswear and hospital clothes – as well as for luxurious clothes, such as for CuteCircuit’s ‘Sound Shirt’ that allows deaf wearers to experience music via fabric.
Water-repellent properties
Infused with smart fabrics containing antimicrobial and water repellant functions were created using titanium dioxide (TiO2) and fluoropolymer-based precursors. Fabrics were prepared by padding these microcapsule slurries and then drying by pad-drying process, followed by testing them for zone of inhibition, to check the growth of Staphylococcus aureus and Klebsiella pneumoniae; wetting angle measurements and water repellency tests were used to check water repellant properties of the fabric.
These textiles marry fashion and functionality, innovation and utility, beauty, elegance, and ease of care. Transcendent technologies are born! Limitless opportunity for clothing comfort and culture begin! Health data triangulation, facial recognition, polymorphic art: it starts here! Just as we define the New Aesthetic with an ‘a’, here’s how you will miss it: review, recommended for you, A rating all the time. Before you plunk down your cash on any technology, think it over. Don’t believe the hype; don’t buy without reading reviews and ratings first. It’s the only way to make sure you won’t buy it all.
Ease of care
If smart textiles prove impractical to look after, you might abandon them – especially if the care requirements are complicated for non-techy wear. Look for guidance on special care conditions: for example, some fabrics should be dry cleaned instead of washed; or avoid putting the product in the washing machine. Also, think about whether you will face high lifetime costs due to regular software upgrades or battery replacements.
While smart fabrics reflect the intricate confluence of fashion and technology, they also usher in an infinite number of possibilities in terms of clothing: from health monitoring to aesthetic dynamism Smart clothes can be composed of digital components connected directly to users or the environment – which can be as simple as sensors, or as complex as microcontrollers: this opens up an infinite number of possibilities in terms of clothing design. According to their level of complexity, smart textiles can be passive or active. Passive smart textiles react only when external stimuli are received; active smart textiles adapt to their environment by changing according to the way the situation happens, and can include traditional or advanced materials such like Kevlar. Smart textiles might be used as, for example, a liquid water passage blocker, an insulator of breezing cold, or sensors that keep users informed about their health status; some models may also have built-in microcomputers that can respond to various kinds of data and even anticipate upcoming events.
Durability
Smart fabrics represent a functional progression from everyday clothing through the addition of electronic elements and sensory devices that impart novel capabilities or effects. These can include anything from tracking your heart rate during exercise to changing the fabric’s shape and appearance in response to environmental stimuli.
As smart textile tech advances, new innovations born of it bring new applications and a world of new ideas. Grandview Research estimates that the market for smart textiles will compound at more than 30 per cent annually between now and 2025.
For those who do decide to buy into the future with a smart garment, we’re here with some due diligence. A smart garment should be researched via user reviews: how does it perform? How much would regular updates cost? How much would battery replacement cost – is there an extra charge and, if so, how often does this happen? Is there a security system in place that protects the personal data of the wearer and stops them from being easily hacked?
