Researchers at Ohio State University are developing antennas and circuit components that are just 0.1mm in size, allowing them to be “woven” into the clothing we wear every day.
This electronic fabric can be sewn on regular sewing machines.
The result is that we can attach various sensors and computer memory devices to clothing. It’s not hard to imagine that in the near future, a shirt we wear daily could function as an antenna for a smartphone or tablet, and could even track our daily exercise levels or monitor brain activity.
This capability is quickly becoming a reality as researchers are testing wearable electronic devices that can weave microchips into fabric with very high precision. This is a crucial step towards designing clothing that can collect, store, or transmit digital information.
“A new revolution is underway in the textile industry. We believe that functional fabrics will bring many innovative applications in the fields of medicine and healthcare,” said John Volakis, head of the research project at Ohio State University.
Volakis’s team has created a functional fabric called “electronic fabric”, which can be sewn on regular sewing machines. In the near future, we will see the emergence of an entirely new range of materials – “electronic clothing.”
