We could all soon be wearing smart clothes according to engineers at Purdue University in Indiana who have developed a method to transform clothing into battery-free, WiFi-powered wearables.
► US university develops washable smart clothes powered by Wi-Fi
► Users can connect to devices
► Clothes will also be able to monitor people’s health
The ‘smart clothes’ are powered wirelessly through a flexible, silk-based coil sewn onto the textile and are resistant to being washed. Miniaturized electronic circuits and sensors allow wearers to seamlessly communicate with devices, such as a smartphone, laptop, or even a car, the university claims.
The technique can also be used to monitor the wearer’s health – and even send alerts should they have some kind of accident or problem.
The big challenge with smart clothes has always been how to overcome the need to put them in the laundry. To overcome this, Purdue’s engineers are spray-coating the smart clothes with highly hydrophobic molecules, which make them repellent to water, oil, and mud. They will stay smart too as they will be almost impossible to stain, can be used underwater, and washed in conventional washing machines without damaging the electronic components sewn onto their surface.
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