Smart clothing is a little closer today. A group of Asian scientists has developed a fiber capable of receiving and transmitting electrical signals wirelessly, without needing to be connected to any battery or chip. This type of thread, which can be incorporated into pieces of clothing, includes inside all the electronic components necessary to function, and uses the human body as part of the circuit.
When pressure is applied to it, the fiber emits electrical signals that can be detected at a distance of 30 meters, allowing touch and remote control of electronic devices. Hence, its applications are almost countless: from communication and gaming, to scientific research, home automation or the monitoring of physiological variables.
The fiber, which is presented this Thursday in Science magazine, is resistant, flexible and comfortable to wear, the authors point out. In fact, it is so similar to the thread commonly used by the textile industry that it can be subjected to the industrial clothing manufacturing processes used today without losing properties.
The resulting garments are washable (scientists have proven that they maintain their properties intact for at least 25 washes), and they withstand exposure to humidity, sweat and temperature changes, typical everyday variables.
“The application scenarios that we envision will determine the way in which we integrate our technology” into clothing items, Weifeng Yang, researcher at Donghua University in Shanghai (China), and author of the study, told La Vanguardia. “Fibers can be embroidered onto existing textiles to enable tactile sensing,” but they can also “be screen printed onto pixelated fabrics to create touch panels and screens,” he details.
“The key advantage of our innovation over current smart fabrics is the elimination of rigid electronic components [such as chips and batteries], which aligns our technology with everyday clothing,” he explains. Scientists have designed a fabric that uses the human body itself as a key piece of the electrical circuit. Its source of energy is the residual electricity released by electronic devices such as mobile phones, or that produced by friction between fabrics (when taking off our coat, for example).
The fiber consists of three layers. The central unit is made of nylon and silver, and acts as a kind of antenna that generates an electromagnetic field from the energy it captures from the environment. This core is surrounded by a resin coating that accumulates energy, and by a second layer of fabric that emits light when it detects the electric field generated by the system.
Although the idea is that the fabric works solely with ambient electricity, “the background electromagnetic energy usually present in our daily environment is insufficient for the standard operation” of the fiber, Yang emphasizes. “It requires the presence of an additional wireless electromagnetic transmitter to function optimally,” he concludes.
That is why the researchers rule out that their fiber can immediately reach the market. “The next phase of research will be to develop a fiber that works optimally in everyday electromagnetic environments,” explains the expert, something his team is already working on.
Even so, researchers have tested, helped by transmitters, some of the potential applications of their fiber. They have used it, for example, to mount a touch panel connected to a type of textile screen made with the same material, which can be incorporated into a piece of clothing. When you slide your finger on the touch panel, the path is illuminated on the screen. The resource can facilitate communication with people with hearing disabilities.
They have also used the fabric to play Tetris in real time, and have sewn it onto a rug to demonstrate its use in home automation. When the user stepped on the material, the fiber emitted an electrical signal that other devices in the room, such as the lamp, air conditioner or stereo, could detect. Other applications include monitoring health parameters and scientific research, for example, to better understand how we interact with our environment.
“There is great promise for smart textiles to transform the way humans live, work, and interact with the world,” Yunzhu Li and Yiyue Luo, researchers at the University of Illinois and MIT, respectively, assess in an analysis in Science. . The advance brings these promises a little closer to reality.
