The developments we’ve seen in the wearable technology segment over the past few years have been phenomenal, to say the least. We’ve gone from adding a calculator on a wristwatch in the 70s to making smartwatches that host a myriad of sensors and functionalities. Thus, the next logical thing in the wearables’ evolution is for it to be fully integrated into our clothes, through smart fabrics.
This type of wearable tech goes by different monikers: smart textile, electronic textile (e-textile), and smart garments. Whichever way you prefer to call it, smart fabrics consist of conventional materials like cotton or wool and are infused with conductive fibers that can be programmed to do various things. And with the help of fiber-fast Internet from PLDT Home Fiber Plus plans, these wearables can do wonders!
What can smart fabrics do?
Some of the functionalities that smart fabrics can do include lighting effects on shoes and garments, as well as advanced stuff like generating electricity through the wearer’s motion. Speaking of electricity, researchers from the Georgia Tech School of Material Science and Engineering have developed a fiber-based energy harvester called triboelectric nanogenerators (called TENG for short) that can harness power not only from the wearer’s movements but also from the wind and sun.
The more advanced stuff is still under development as of the time of writing this, but there are existing apparel with smart fabric available for consumers. These include socks from Sensoria that measure step count, travel distance, and speed; yoga pants that serve as a quasi-instructor letting the wearer know what part of the body needs to be adjusted through haptic feedback; and a trucker jacket from Levi’s that allows the wearer to control their smartphone through gestures made on the jacket.
Embed: Connected Not Distracted | Levi’s® Trucker Jacket with Jacquard™ by Google
As cool as these may be, what excites us the most about this technology is the potential impact that smart textiles would have in the wellness and healthcare industry. Because of its lightweight nature, smart fabrics can be fitted with sensors to monitor heart rate, body temperature, and other various fitness metrics to aid in diagnosing patients, as well as keep healthy folks in the best possible condition.
Hexoskin, a shirt made by a Canada-based company of the same name, is a perfect example of what e-textiles have to offer in the medical field. It measures the wearer’s cardiac, pulmonary, activity, and sleep data which can be viewed on an Android or iOS device.
What does the future of wearables hold?
Despite the promising implementation of smart fabrics that we’ve seen so far, we’re just barely scratching the surface of what this technology can do. We can expect to see more integration of smart fabrics in the near future as more companies attempt to get in on the act.
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