So, you thought that clothes are just meant for you to look good. Well, now clothes have many more functions than you can ever imagine. Welcome to the world of smart clothing technology.
So, what exactly are smart clothes?
Simply said, smart clothing is clothes made up with the help of high-tech technology that can add many other functions other than the traditional use. These smart articles of clothing are made up of many advanced textiles filled with various sensors and additional hardware forsmart functionality. This modern textile technology can modify clothes that can produce the desired result. We can change colours, display custom messages, emit vibrations, and even collect some medical data. Here is a list of fascinating advancements in the field of smart clothing.
Chain mail fabrics that can go rigid and soft in a matter of seconds
So, we thought that chain mail fabrics have gone out of fashion and were used in the Middle Ages, think again. Engineers at Nanyang Technological University and California Institute of Technology created a chain-like material that can go soft and rigid in a matter of seconds and can bear a load that is fifty times its own weight. This fabric can potentially be used as armours, casts that can change its stiffness as the patient heals and help with mobility issues.
Clothes that can clean itself
Doesn’t it sound simply fascinating that you wear something that you don’t have to wash and clean? Thanks to technology, in the year 2016, the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology developed a fabric that can clean itself thanks to copper and silver nanostructure on the cotton fibres. The atoms of the metal in these nanostructures get excited when put under light after which the material breaks the organic matter and cleans the stains and grime in less than five or six minutes. The silver nanoparticles are really helpful in killing odour producing bacteria.
Clothes that can help you cool down
If we could stop heating up in the summers then we could easily cut down the excessive consumption of coolers and air conditioners. Researchers from Nanjing University and Stanford University have modified silk that can reflect almost 95% of the sunlight making the fabric stay four-degree cooler than the surrounding. By adding aluminium oxide nanoparticles, the fabric was able to reflect UV rays and kept the body cooler by 12.5 degrees Celsius than the regular cotton clothing.
So, what do you think? Would you like to try these smart clothing for yourself?
