Smart fabrics aim to enhance the ‘intelligence’ of clothes, elevating them from mere protective coverings to extensions of the human body. Having first originated in military and aerospace research, smart fabrics have in various sectors, including healthcare, sports, and fashion. With fashion giants including Nike, Ralph Lauren, Under Armour, and Levi Strauss taking interest in smart textiles, the sector is to reach a value of US$ 9 billion by 2025.
Although the terms ‘smart’ and ‘electronic’ fabrics are often used interchangeably, they refer to distinct types of material. are equipped with circuits or sensors that enable them to detect or transmit data. In contrast, smart fabrics are materials capable of detecting and responding to external stimuli with or without electronics. Smart fabrics can be constructed with electronic sensors and conductive or non-conductive fibers, allowing them to react to environmental or physiological changes. Indeed, non-electronic smart fabrics are since they offer the added advantage of enhanced washability, wearability, and increased lifetime.
Earth’s incredibly complex lifeforms have evolved over millions of years to perform specific functions. textiles aim to reproduce the functionality and smartness of these biological tissues using synthetic fibers or biomaterials. The concept is not new to the textile industry. In 1955, the was inspired to invent Velcro when he went on a hunting trip and observed burs sticking to his clothes.
Aided by advancements in fabric engineering, a multitude of biomimicking smart fabrics have been synthesized. Here, we highlight four of the most promising materials within this field.
Researchers are creating smart fabrics by mimicking human bone. Credit: eranicle
Human bones are much stronger than notoriously strong materials like concrete and steel. This is the result of periosteum—a network of tissues that encompass the human skeleton and give the bones strength.
Scientists at the University of New South Wales have managed to that mimics the resilience and durability of this soft tissue. The lead researcher, Melissa Knothe Tate, explains why the periosteum is an ideal candidate to mimic: “The tissue contains a pattern of structural proteins (collagen and elastin) that are mechanoactive—have the ability to respond to mechanical stimuli. So, they naturally exhibit smart properties, becoming stiff and conferring turbo strength under impact loads.”
Developing this ingenious fabric required a complex and interdisciplinary engineering process. “High-resolution microscopy was used to decipher the natural textile patterns, which were then replicated using computer algorithms,” Tate explains.
However, since collagen and elastin are too small to be woven on a loom, the research team had to develop elastic and silk fibers that mimicked the properties of these natural proteins. Following a successful proof-of-concept, the research team is now working toward incorporating these fabrics into garments, medical devices, and safety products like seatbelts.
While basic wound dressings protect the injured surface from contamination, they are not very conducive to the healing process. In some cases, the materials utilized in the dressing fabric can cause additional trauma at the site. Consequently, research into fabrics that mimic the wound healing capabilities of the skin is steadily gaining popularity.
Samantha Burke, patient relations and engagement manager at MedRite Urgent Care, recalls her work at the Arizona burn center, using textiles with biomimetic capabilities. “Medical textiles used in dressings have always utilized structurally flexible fibers, allowing them to imitate the mechanical behavior of human tissue,” she says. “However, these fabrics have improved significantly over the years.”
aim to mimic the body’s natural wound healing processes, including enhancement of local blood circulation, increased oxygen perfusion, and warm temperature conditions that promote the activity of immune cells. “Electrospinning—a spinning technique that uses electrostatic force to weave biocompatible polymers—has allowed us to engineer human tissue, a significant advancement in smart textiles research,” Burke states.
A bottom-up approach that makes use of developmental biology to synthesize smart wound dressings has also been explored. For example, researchers at the French National Institute for Medical and Health Research utilized laboratory-grown cells to synthesize yarn made up of .
In the past decade, rapid advancements in sensing technology have revolutionized the healthcare sector, giving rise to a slew of wearables with embedded sensors. These sensors have found their way into smart apparel, allowing fabrics to mimic the human body and respond to external stimuli. “The goal is to use computer systems to augment the human body,” explains Anouk Wipprecht, a Dutch fashion designer and technologist. “The sensors, which are sewn in using conductive wires or 3D printed onto the textile, act as the ‘brain’ of the garment. For example, I created a ‘ with sensors that mimic the human nervous system. They can trace the wearer’s stress levels by measuring EEG, respiratory rate, and cardiovascular components.”
Researchers at The Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies have developed fabrics that mimic the touch sensitivity of human skin. Engineered using vibration-sensitive fibers and artificial skin tactile sensors, these piezoelectric fabrics can convert mechanical energy to electrical energy. When an external object encounters the garment, the fibers vibrate, allowing the sensors to detect the characteristics of the object.
To explore if these smart fabrics can provide astronauts with a sense of touch in space, samples have been sent to the International Space Station. “There is also a lot of buzz regarding sensation-creating fabrics in fashion,” adds Wipprecht. “Going forward, they could be used to assist a blind person to navigate, or even create new physical sensations.”
Although smart fabrics offer several benefits, developing them into usable textiles or garments remains challenging. “The key challenge is to make electronics comfortable,” says Wipprecht. “At least for now, electronics remain bulky and non-washable. The sharp metals and wires can also threaten injury to the wearer during movement or fitting.”
While non-electronic smart fabrics do overcome these challenges, their fabrication remains expensive, barring widescale commercial production. To truly realize the advantages that smart fabrics offer, the textile industry must work with technologists and researchers to circumvent these barriers.
Author: Nicola Davies, https://trustedwriter.com/
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