At least half of veterans with spinal cord injuries will develop sores on their skin from the unrelieved pressure of sitting for long periods of time in a wheelchair. It’s a constant worry, because these skin ulcers can greatly limit patients’ mobility.“Pressure injuries directly impact the veteran’s quality of life, because the medical provider will order the veteran to bed rest for weeks and potentially months,” said Kim House, a physician and medical director of the Spinal Cord Injury Clinic at the Atlanta Veterans Administration Healthcare System. “At every clinic visit, I provide education for pressure injury prevention.”House could one day have a new tool to offer her patients, thanks to researchers in the Georgia Tech College of Engineering, and wheelchair-bound veterans are just the beginning.Materials engineers are developing new fabric sensors and a customized wheelchair system that assesses and automatically eases pressure at contact points to prevent injuries from developing in the first place.“We have three key issues happening: First, continuous pressure. Second, moisture, because when you're sitting in the same spot, you tend to sweat and generate moisture. And third is shear. When you try to move somebody, the skin shears. That perfect combination is what causes pressure injuries,” said <a href="https://mse.gatech.edu/people/sundaresan-jayaraman" target="_blank">Sundaresan Jayaraman</a>, professor in the <a href="https://mse.gatech.edu/" target="_blank">School of Materials Science and Engineering</a> (MSE). “We believe we have a solution to the perfect storm of pressure, moisture and shear, which means the user’s quality of life is going to get better.”<img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1701347606566-ezgif-3-3425e1aacc.jpg" style="width: 766px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">Sundaresan Jayaraman (left) looks at pressure data from fabric sensors he developed with Sungmee Park, who is seated in their prototype wheelchair system. (Photo: Candler Hobbs)With Principal Research Scientist&nbsp;<a href="https://mse.gatech.edu/people/sungmee-park" target="_blank">Sungmee Park</a>, Jayaraman has designed fabric with a network of embedded sensors that covers the seat of a wheelchair. Conductive material is woven into the textile, and it’s washable without degrading the sensors.Data about pressure and moisture from the sensors feeds into a processing unit that uses artificial intelligence algorithms to identify trouble spots in real time and selectively raise or lower a series of actuators under the wheelchair seat to relieve pressure. That has the advantage of eliminating any shearing forces on the skin that come from sliding against the seat.Meanwhile, a series of fans activates to eliminate moisture. A companion smartphone app developed in the lab allows users to override the system to maintain comfort and stability —&nbsp;particularly important for people with spinal cord injuries who may not be able to correct their body position on their own.“Each person moves differently. This system gathers all the pressure and moisture data and also accounts for different body compositions, styles, and weights,” Park said. “We feed all of that big data into the AI algorithms so each person can have an intervention system that works independently. It would be a totally automatic system.”The team’s idea has advanced in a&nbsp;<a href="https://healthylongevitychallenge.org/winners/enhancing-health-longevity-of-individuals-with-limited-mobility/" target="_blank">National Academy of Medicine healthy longevity competition</a>, receiving one of 20 Catalyst Awards out of more than 500 ideas. For House, who earned a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering at Tech in 1995, the potential is powerful: “A wheelchair system that will assist veterans in decreasing risk for pressure injury will allow veterans to become less dependent on caregivers for pressure reduction strategies and allow for increased independence and self-determination.”Park and Jayaraman will work over the next year to “ruggedize” their system for real-world use. They’re hoping to work with House to collect feedback and ideas from wheelchair users with spinal cord injuries to improve their design.“With interactive input from users, we can intervene or modify if we need to and improve the prototype so we can move toward actual clinical testing for commercialization,” Park said.The researchers are focused initially on wheelchairs, but they see larger possibilities for their system. Hospital-acquired pressure injuries cost U.S. hospitals&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7948545/" target="_blank">more than $26 billion a year</a>, by some estimates. Avoiding them requires vigilance from medical staff, who must regularly help patients shift their position in bed. The sensor fabric could be deployed on hospital beds or in neonatal intensive care units to cue staff when a patient needs to be moved to relieve a buildup of pressure and moisture.Eventually, the ideas behind the system even could be extended to help office workers, software developers, or gamers who sit for long periods of time. Data from the sensor fabric might trigger reminders that encourage them to get up and counteract the negative health effects of too much sitting.“The theme of our work always has been, what can we do as engineers — by being innovative and creative, by bringing engineering problem-solving — to make an impact on society and people’s lives?” Jayaraman said. “We look forward to the day where this technology becomes a reality and people in wheelchairs don’t have to worry — and pressure injuries really become a scourge of the past.”

A customized wheelchair system — including fabric sensors, actuators, and fans — designed to prevent pressure injuries. (Photo: Candler Hobbs)

MSE researchers are using a Catalyst Award from the National Academy of Medicine to develop a pressure-relieving sensor system that could also be used in hospital beds.

Sensor Fabric, Big Data Could Help End Pressure Injuries for Wheelchair Users

E-textiles are worn close to and/or against the surface of the skin, with applications in healthcare, gaming, athletic training and environmental monitoring. Thanks to embedded electronic components, e-textiles can store and harvest energy, sense, display, actuate and compute.<img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1698479495630-resizedcamdrawing1.png" style="width: 768px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">Illustration showing the 4R design concept: repair; recycle; replace; reduce. Credit: Dr Harvey ShiYet there are two major challenges to the future growth of e-textiles: firstly, high costs, therefore resulting in slower consumer adoption. Secondly, high environmental costs associated with mass production, in particular, <a href="https://portals.iucn.org/library/sites/library/files/documents/2017-002-En.pdf" target="_blank" data-lf-fd-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true">microplastic water pollution</a>. Fundamentally, we need new ways to prevent the scale-up of e-textiles from becoming the next electronic waste (e-waste) environmental fiasco.This is according to a team of engineers and scientists from the UK, Canada, the USA and China, led by the University of Cambridge, who warn that the e-textile supply chain and its potential for scalable commercialisation could be “further complicated” by the associated global environmental burden, and the growing use of nanomaterials in e-textiles. They say that some of these nanomaterials can pose environmental challenges and could also have adverse effects on human health (e.g. skin irritation and/or absorption of loose nanoparticles into the skin).<a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-023-01615-z" target="_blank">Writing in the journal</a> Nature Materials, the research team proposes the 4R e-textile design concept (repair; recycle; replace; reduce) alongside innovations in materials selection and biofabrication-inspired processing – a revolutionary approach that uses additive manufacturing processes to produce biomaterials, devices, cells and tissues. The aim is to reach sustainable growth and balance economic returns/scalable commercialisation with “environmental consciousness”, at a time when <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/retail/our-insights/survey-consumer-sentiment-on-sustainability-in-fashion" target="_blank">consumers are actively aligning their purchasing behaviours with sustainability goals</a>.The 4Rs for more affordable, versatile e-textiles products and enhanced supply chains have been defined as follows:<h3>Repair</h3>‘Fibre level’ repairs e.g. resewing, reweaving, reknitting and self-healing of electronic fibres, and bulk ‘fabric-level’ repairs e.g. recoating, reprinting and respraying of active materials.Eventually, the e-textile materials would adopt self-healing mechanisms, which would give them the capability of self-repair over time. Also, with a modular approach to future e-textile designs, it is also possible to switch out faulty components easily and rejuvenate the electronic functionalities of the system.<h3>Recycle</h3>In the near term, recycling can be encouraged by categorising and separating e-textiles components into the base textile and the electronic modules.The base textile can be recycled as regular clothing and the electronic components recycled as regular e-waste streams.However, e-textile recycling becomes more complex when the fabrics contain, for example, functionalised electronic fibres with electrical conductivity and sensing capabilities. Extraction in most cases would be time-consuming and costly, say the researchers, so reusing and repurposing used functional components might be a viable option.<h3>Replacement</h3>The research team also notes&nbsp;that while biomass fibres such as those extracted from wool, silk, cellulose, flax and hemp, could provide a renewable source for e-textile production, this is not often possible. This is due to the fact that nano- and microstructured active coatings and functionalised strategies need to be applied to enable electronic functions, that would otherwise be missing. Therefore, novel materials design that utilises earth-abundant elements can accelerate e-textile commercialisation and make them more cost-effective for the average consumer.Additionally, the research team also calls for alternative bioderived material options for electronic fibre encapsulation to create non-irritating and skin-compatible e-textile surfaces. Currently, material options are mostly synthetic and non-biodegradable.<h3>Reduction</h3>This, according to the researchers, can be interpreted in two ways:<ol><li>Reducing the total emissions and energy consumption during e-textile production and deployment.</li><li>Reducing the total amount of material used in e-textiles to achieve and maintain a specified function.</li></ol>“Currently, the scalable commercialisation of e-textiles products is limited by high pricing and lack of diversity, durability and washability,” said co-lead author <a href="http://www.eng.cam.ac.uk/profiles/yysh2" target="_blank">Professor Shery Huang</a> from Cambridge’s Department of Engineering. “This is why materials considerations in the 4R realm (identified as repair; recycle; replace; reduce) need to be addressed in order to secure a sustainable future for e-textiles development.”“Machine washing of e-textiles has, to date, contributed to an increase in microplastic pollution in the water stream. The challenge here is to reinforce the functional longevity of e-textiles, while minimising the number of microparticles released. Strategies for this include the decoupling of transient/single-use components or designing ‘dry’ or ‘vapour-based’ cleaning protocols that consume less water,” said co-lead author Dr Harvey Shi from Western University, Canada.The research team has proposed various sustainable e-textile strategies. For example, an e-textile can be divided as “canvas” and “modules” components. The “canvas” is machine-washable and provides the bulk of the user’s sensory experience, while the “modules” are the interconnected components that carry electronic functionalities.The researchers&nbsp;say that the “canvas” should be designed to maintain reliability as an electrically insulating and chemically inert medium under persistent use and occasional reconfiguration. The “modules” meanwhile, can be designed with various formats to be easily removable and replaceable, so that their electronic functions can be maintained for long-term use.The “canvas” and “modules” can be sorted by three preliminary lifespan ratings: quasi-permanent, with a lifespan of approximately one year; multiple use, with a lifespan ranging from weeks to months; and single-use.<img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1698479511172-CENTRE_CamDrawing2.png" style="width: 766px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">Illustration showing the marriage of 4R concepts with functional fibre production/digital additive manufacturing and biofabrication techniques. Credit: Dr Harvey Shi.According to the researchers, the timeline for 4R-integrated e-textiles development can be broken down into the following:In the near term – standardising e-textiles platforms to integrate a variety of electronic modules, leading to innovative processing technologies and industrial standardisation that will bring affordable e-textiles to a broader consumer base.Further developments include: automated assembly processes; a database of functional ink formations for e-textiles developers to use; and establishing standardisation in component decoupling based on longevity ratings – a move that also effectively minimises the release of electronic micro- or nanoparticles into the water stream.<a href="https://www.graphene.cam.ac.uk/people/yifei-pan" target="_blank">Yifei Pan</a>, PhD student in the&nbsp;<a href="https://biointerface.eng.cam.ac.uk/" target="_blank">Biointerface Research Group</a> at Cambridge, said: “Adopting this standardisation approach in the near term can enable developers to create a customised array of cross-compatible functional components; reinforce user safety and public interests in the personalised healthcare and customised non-invasive therapeutics market (i.e. product certification); and can lead to designated cleaning protocols.”In the mid-term – employing user-centric design strategies and innovative processing technologies to offer a broader range of e-textiles to the public, ones that are comfortable to wear and which can be personalised to the user.“This is the point at which self-healing/self-repairing fibres can be achieved through molecular design and without the need for human intervention,” said Dr Shi. “This would effectively create a repairable e-textile ecosystem, in which the product can be readily disassembled and refurbished without adding to the environmental burden.”In the long term – sustainable and ‘living’ e-textiles can be realised, such as engineered robotic skin. Biohybrids, fibre-on-demand and biofabrication technologies will enable these e-textiles to self-clean (thus minimising the requirements for machine washing or solvent-based cleaning), self-repair and be capable of self-regeneration in the future.“In summary, the road towards ‘green’, biohybrid and circular fabrication calls for the marriage of our 4R concepts with functional fibre production/digital additive manufacturing and biofabrication to produce highly customisable e-textile designs,” said <a href="http://www.eng.cam.ac.uk/profiles/th270" target="_blank">Professor Tawfique Hasan</a> from the&nbsp;<a href="http://www.graphene.cam.ac.uk/" target="_blank">Cambridge Graphene Centre</a>.Professor Huang added: “As we drive towards future sustainable e-textile manufacturing, there could be a paradigm shift from a centralised mass production strategy with one principal facility to a more widespread additive manufacturing/3D printing platform – ultimately creating and repairing e-textiles on-site.”Reference: HaoTian Harvey Shi; Yifei Pan; Lin Xu; Xueming Feng; Wenyu Wang; Prasad Potluri; Liangbing Hu; Tawfique Hasan; Yan Yan Shery Huang. ‘<a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-023-01615-z" target="_blank">Sustainable electronic textiles towards&nbsp;scalable commercialization</a>’. Nature Materials (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41563-023-01615-z

If electronic textiles (e-textiles) are to have a sustainable future and at scale, then a transition is needed to unlock innovative wearable e-textiles that fit a sustainable circular economy – adopting what has been termed as the 4R design concept: repair; recycle; replace; reduce.

Innovative wearable e-textiles fit for a sustainable circular economy

Many fluid-based wearable assistive technologies today require a large and noisy pump that is impractical &ndash; if not impossible &ndash; to integrate into clothing. This leads to a contradiction: wearable devices are routinely tethered to un&shy;-wearable pumps. Now, researchers at the Soft Transducers Laboratory (<a href="https://www.epfl.ch/labs/lmts/" target="_blank">LMTS</a>) in the School of Engineering have developed an elegantly simple solution to this dilemma.<iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/forx6TA_1wg?&wmode=opaque&rel=0&enablejsapi=1&origin=https://www.wevolver.com" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable" data-gtm-yt-inspected-9="true" data-lf-form-tracking-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true" data-lf-yt-playback-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true" data-lf-vimeo-playback-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true"></iframe> &ldquo;We present the world&rsquo;s first pump in the form of a fiber; in essence, tubing that generates its own pressure and flow rate,&rdquo; says LMTS head Herbert Shea. &ldquo;Now, we can sew our fiber pumps directly into textiles and clothing, leaving conventional pumps behind.&rdquo;The research has been <a href="http://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ade8654" rel="noopener" target="_blank">published</a> in the journal Science.<img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1681388882269-f6e5d6b6.jpg" style="width: 766px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">The LMTS fiber pump &copy; LMTS EPFL&nbsp;<img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1681388906955-df3aef6c.jpg" style="width: 766px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">The fiber pumps woven into fabric &copy; LMTS EPFL&nbsp;<h2 id="isPasted">Lightweight, powerful&hellip;and washable</h2>Shea&rsquo;s lab has a history of forward-thinking fluidics. In 2019, they produced the world&rsquo;s first <a href="https://actu.epfl.ch/news/nature-a-stretchable-pump-for-the-next-generation-/" target="_blank">stretchable pump</a>.&ldquo;This work builds on our previous generation of soft pump,&rdquo; says Michael Smith, an LMTS post-doctoral researcher and lead author of the study. &ldquo;The fiber format allows us to make lighter, more powerful pumps that are inherently more compatible with wearable technology.&rdquo;The LMTS fiber pumps use a principle called charge injection electrohydrodynamics (EHD) to generate a fluid flow without any moving parts. Two helical electrodes embedded in the pump wall ionize and accelerate molecules of a special non-conductive liquid. The ion movement and electrode shape generate a net forward fluid flow, resulting in silent, vibration-free operation, and requiring just a palm-sized power supply and battery.To achieve the pump&rsquo;s unique structure, the researchers developed a novel fabrication technique that involves twisting copper wires and polyurethane threads together around a steel rod, and then fusing them with heat. After the rod is removed, the 2 mm fibers can be integrated into textiles using standard weaving and sewing techniques.The pump&rsquo;s simple design has a number of advantages. The materials required are cheap and readily available, and the manufacturing process can be easily scaled up. Because the amount of pressure generated by the pump is directly linked to its length, the tubes can be cut to match the application, optimizing performance while minimizing weight. The robust design can also be washed with conventional detergents.<img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1681388950012-578e7f6a.jpg" style="width: 766px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">Fabrication of the fiber pump &copy; LMTS EPFL&nbsp;<img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1681388971485-9c7249d4.jpg" style="width: 766px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">Woven pump demonstration &copy; LMTS EPFL&nbsp;<h2 id="isPasted">From exoskeletons to virtual reality</h2>The authors have already demonstrated how these fiber pumps can be used in new and exciting wearable technologies. For example, they can circulate hot and cold fluid through garments for those working in extreme temperature environments or in a therapeutic setting to help manage inflammation; and even for those looking to optimize athletic performance.&ldquo;These applications require long lengths of tubing anyway, and in our case, the tubing is the pump. This means we can make very simple and lightweight fluidic circuits that are convenient and comfortable to wear,&rdquo; Smith says.The study also describes artificial muscles made from fabric and embedded fiber pumps, which could be used to power soft exoskeletons to help patients move and walk.The pump could even bring a new dimension to the world of virtual reality by simulating the sensation of temperature. In this case, users wear a glove with pumps filled with hot or cold liquid, allowing them to feel temperature changes in response to contact with a virtual object.<h2>Pumped up for the future</h2>The researchers are already looking to improve the performance of their device. &ldquo;The pumps already perform well, and we&rsquo;re confident that with more work, we can continue to make improvements in areas like efficiency and lifetime,&rdquo; says Smith. Work has already started on scaling up the production of the fiber pumps, and the LMTS also has plans to embed them into more complex wearable devices.&ldquo;We believe that this innovation is a game-changer for wearable technology,&rdquo; Shea says.<img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1681389002841-5a0f4fdc.jpg" style="width: 766px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">The pumps integrated into a glove &copy; LMTS EPFL&nbsp;<img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1681389020252-1c9f5836.jpg" style="width: 766px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">Infrared image of the pumps integrated into a t-shirt &copy; LMTS EPFL&nbsp;<hr>ReferencesSmith M, Cacucciolo V, Shea H. Fiber pumps for wearable fluidic systems. Science. 2023 Mar 31;379(6639):1327-1332. doi:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ade8654" rel="noopener" target="_blank">10.1126/science.ade8654</a>. Epub 2023 Mar 30.

The fiber pumps knit into fabric © LMTS EPFL

EPFL researchers have developed fiber-like pumps that allow high-pressure fluidic circuits to be woven into textiles without an external pump. Soft supportive exoskeletons, thermoregulatory clothing, and immersive haptics can therefore be powered from pumps sewn into the fabric of the devices themselves.

Thread-like pumps can be woven into clothes

Less than 15% of the 92 million tons of clothing and other textiles discarded annually are recycled&mdash;in part because they are so difficult to sort. Woven-in labels made with inexpensive photonic fibers, developed by a University of Michigan-led team, could change that.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s like a barcode that&rsquo;s woven directly into the fabric of a garment,&rdquo; said <a href="https://mse.engin.umich.edu/people/mshtein" target="_blank">Max Shtein</a>, U-M professor of materials science and engineering and corresponding author of the study in Advanced Materials Technologies. &ldquo;We can customize the photonic properties of the fibers to make them visible to the naked eye, readable only under near-infrared light or any combination.&rdquo;Ordinary tags often don&rsquo;t make it to the end of a garment&rsquo;s life&mdash;they may be cut away or washed until illegible, and tagless information can wear off. Recycling could be more effective if a tag was woven into the fabric, invisible until it needs to be read. This is what the new fiber could do.<img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1676377902069-PhotonicFibers1.jpg" style="width: 766px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">Brian Iezzi scans and measures the photonic fibers in the fabric he developed. The laptop screen reflects the information he gathered. Photo: Marcin Szczepanski/Michigan Engineering&nbsp;Recyclers already use near-infrared sorting systems that identify different materials according to their naturally occurring optical signatures&mdash;the PET plastic in a water bottle, for example, looks different under near-infrared light than the HDPE plastic in a milk jug. Different fabrics also have different optical signatures, but <a href="https://shteinlab.engin.umich.edu/profile/brian-iezzi/" target="_blank">Brian Iezzi</a>, a postdoctoral researcher in Shtein&rsquo;s lab and lead author of the study, explains that those signatures are of limited use to recyclers because of the prevalence of blended fabrics.&ldquo;For a truly circular recycling system to work, it&rsquo;s important to know the precise composition of a fabric&mdash;a cotton recycler doesn&rsquo;t want to pay for a garment that&rsquo;s made of 70% polyester,&rdquo; Iezzi said. &ldquo;Natural optical signatures can&rsquo;t provide that level of precision, but our photonic fibers can.&rdquo;The team developed the technology by combining Iezzi and Shtein&rsquo;s photonic expertise&mdash;usually applied to products like displays, solar cells and optical filters&mdash;with the advanced textile capabilities at MIT&rsquo;s Lincoln Lab. The lab worked to incorporate the photonic properties into a process that would be compatible with large-scale production.<img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1676377925678-PhotonicFibers2.jpg" style="width: 766px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">Brian Iezzi use his phone to simulate the scanning of the photonic fibers fabric he developed. In the future, one will be able to use their phone to read the clothing woven-in labels made with inexpensive photonic fibers. Photo: Marcin Szczepanski/Michigan Engineering&nbsp;They accomplished the task by starting with a preform&mdash;a plastic feedstock that comprises dozens of alternating layers. In this case, they used acrylic and polycarbonate. While each individual layer is clear, the combination of two materials bends and refracts light to create optical effects that can look like color. It&rsquo;s the same basic phenomenon that gives butterfly wings their shimmer.The preform is heated and then mechanically pulled&mdash;a bit like taffy&mdash;into a hair-thin strand of fiber. While the manufacturing process method differs from the extrusion technique used to make conventional synthetic fibers like polyester, it can produce the same miles-long strands of fiber. Those strands can then be processed with the same equipment already used by textile makers.By adjusting the mix of materials and the speed at which the preform is pulled, the researchers tuned the fiber to create the desired optical properties and ensure recyclability. While the photonic fiber is more expensive than traditional textiles, the researchers estimate that it will only result in a small increase in the cost of finished goods.&ldquo;The photonic fibers only need to make up a small percentage&mdash;as little as 1% of a finished garment,&rdquo; Iezzi said. &ldquo;That might increase the cost of the finished product by around 25 cents&mdash;similar to the cost of those use-and-care tags we&rsquo;re all familiar with.&rdquo;<img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1676377988942-PhotonicFibers3.jpg" style="width: 766px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">Max Stein and Brian Iezzi analyze the fabric with photonic fibers woven into it. Photo: Marcin Szczepanski/Michigan Engineering&nbsp;Shtein says that in addition to making recycling easier, the photonic labeling could be used to tell consumers where and how goods are made, and even to verify the authenticity of brand-name products. It could be a way to add important value for customers.&ldquo;As electronic devices like cell phones become more sophisticated, they could potentially have the ability to read this kind of photonic labeling,&rdquo; Shtein said. &ldquo;So I could imagine a future where woven-in labels are a useful feature for consumers as well as recyclers.&rdquo;Iezzi worked closely with Lincoln Lab researchers Austin Coon, Lauren Cantley, Bradford Perkins, Erin Doran, Tairan Wang and Mordechai Rothschild to adapt the technology to a scalable, low-cost textile manufacturing process.<img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1676378024473-PhotonicFibers4.jpg" style="width: 766px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">Brian Iezzi scans and measures the photonic fibers in the fabric he developed. Photo: Marcin Szczepanski/Michigan Engineering&nbsp;The team has applied for patent protection with the assistance of Innovation Partnerships at the University of Michigan and is evaluating ways to move forward with the commercialization of the technology.The research was supported by the United States National Science Foundation INTERN program (no. 1727894) and the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering under Air Force (no. FA8702-15-D-0001).

Max Stein and Brian Iezzi analyze the fabric with photonic fibers woven into it. Photo: Marcin Szczepanski/Michigan Engineering

Photonic fibers borrow from butterfly wings to enable invisible, indelible sorting labels.

A "game changer" for clothing recycling?

In this episode, we talk about how a radical change in plastic composition can significantly minimize waste when recycling plastics without compromising material properties and a first of its kind smart fabric with customizable properties which serves as the first step towards a whole new market. As always, you can find these and other interesting &amp; impactful engineering articles on Wevolver.com.<iframe height="200px" width="100%" frameborder="no" scrolling="no" seamless="" src="https://player.simplecast.com/e67f6081-3650-42ad-847d-ccb27822c445?dark=false" class="fr-draggable" data-lf-yt-playback-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true"></iframe>&nbsp;<hr>This podcast is sponsored by <a href="https://www2.mouser.com/" id="isPasted" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Mouser Electronics</a>. &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;<img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1649152293551-Mouser-sponsor-1-a.jpg" style="width: 766px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"><hr><h3 id="isPasted">EPISODE NOTES</h3>(1:45) -&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wevolver.com/article/breaking-down-plastic-into-its-constituent-parts" target="_blank">Tackling Plastic Problem</a>(16:10) -&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wevolver.com/article/a-flexible-foldable-highly-integrated-smart-fabric-could-herald-the-future-of-the-cuddlier-internet-of-things" target="_blank">Smart Fabrics</a>Episode 64 was brought to you by Mouser Electronics, Farbod &amp; Daniel&rsquo;s favorite electronics distributor. Click&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mouser.com/applications/touch_dispersive_signal/" target="_blank">here</a> to read the article explaining dispersive signal touch technology.Here&rsquo;s the <a href="https://www.wevolver.com/article/podcast-why-plastic-eating-enzymes-will-save-our-oceans" target="_blank">link&nbsp;</a>to the episode mentioned that discussed plastic eating enzymes.<hr>About the podcast:Every day, some of the most innovative universities, companies, and individual technology developers share their knowledge on Wevolver. To ensure we can also provide this knowledge for the growing group of podcast listeners, we started a collaboration with two young engineers, Daniel Scott Mitchell &amp; Farbod Moghaddam who discuss the most interesting content in this podcast series.&nbsp;To learn more about this show, please visit the <a href="https://www.wevolver.com/profile/the.next.byte" target="_blank">shows page</a>. By following the page, you will get automatic updates by email when a new show is published.Be sure to give us a follow and review on <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/nl/podcast/the-next-byte/id1548255861?l=en" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Apple</a> podcasts, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/6lPPsRtegnivsRUEsQ09R7?si=IPMiah7xT_apJtPjqvXMlA" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Spotify</a>, and most of your favorite podcast platforms!

Like the pearls of a pearl necklace, molecular building blocks of polymer chains can be recovered and fully reused. (Symbol image: Adobe Stock)

In this episode, we talk about how a radical change in plastic composition can significantly minimize waste when recycling plastics without compromising material properties and a first of its kind smart fabric with customizable properties which serves as the first step towards a whole new market

Podcast: Solution To The Plastic Problem & Smart Fabrics

This article was discussed in our <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.wevolver.com/profile/the.next.byte&source=gmail&ust=1649206513804000&usg=AOvVaw2e8fjtjDBubEV3BD4lTqPX" href="https://www.wevolver.com/profile/the.next.byte" id="isPasted" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Next Byte podcast</a>.&nbsp;<iframe height="200px" width="100%" frameborder="no" scrolling="no" seamless="" src="https://player.simplecast.com/e67f6081-3650-42ad-847d-ccb27822c445?dark=false" class="fr-draggable" data-lf-yt-playback-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true"></iframe>The full article will continue below.<hr>The idea of the fully-integrated smart home, where the very surfaces themselves boast sensing, display, and control capabilities, is an alluring one which to date has not been realized by available technologies &mdash; but a woven smart display, capable of repeated bending folding and with integrated energy storage functionality, could hold the key to changing that.Developed by a multi-organizational team led by the University of Cambridge, the novel display system&rsquo;s prototype is a 46&quot; gadget boasting full-color display capabilities alongside wireless power transmission and energy storage, touch sensing, environmental monitoring, biosensing, and photodetection &mdash; while remaining fully flexible.<h1>Interwoven technology</h1>The core concept of combining fabric-weaving manufacturing approaches with integrated technology isn&rsquo;t new, but has thus far struggled to scale beyond small-form-factor devices primarily targeting the wearable sector. This unnamed prototype, by contrast, targets scalability as a primary consideration: Its active display offers a 34&quot; diagonal, with its creators claiming devices of &ldquo;unlimited size&rdquo; could be created using existing manual or machine looms.Featuring a conductive silver-coated polyamide thread developed in-house as a connecting material, the heart of the smart fabric is the full-color LED display panel. Dubbed a Fiber LED (F-LED) display, the output device features a matrix of 84&times;76 RGB LEDs &mdash; while a second prototype boosted the resolution to 120&times;65, the highest resolution yet achieved in fiber LED displays.<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KP1WebOG2bM?&wmode=opaque&rel=0&enablejsapi=1&origin=https://www.wevolver.com" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" data-lf-yt-playback-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true"></iframe> The display is only part of the prototype, however: Designed as a true &ldquo;smart fabric,&rdquo; the system also includes a range of additional &ldquo;fiber devices&rdquo; designed to act as inputs: A square spiral fiber antenna, which can receive 13.56MHz signals as a mode switch and for power harvesting or communication with external devices; a fiber photodetector for environmental ultraviolet monitoring; a number of fiber touch sensors woven into the weft and warp of the fabric for simultaneous and multi-touch sensing equivalent to a traditional touchpad; a fiber temperature sensor; and a fiber biosensor, capable of monitoring and amplifying the user&rsquo;s heartbeat for monitoring and display.The final key feature of the overall fabric system&#39;s technology bundle: Fiber supercapacitors, made from gel-electrolyte sandwiched between carbon fiber bundles, capable of storing energy within the fabric itself for later use.<h1>True flexibility</h1>Despite all these functions, the smart fabric prototype remains flexible, capable of being rolled, folded, and gently stretched without damage. In extensive experimentation, all &ldquo;F-devices&rdquo; built into the system were subjected to standardized bending tests over 1,000 cycles and a year-long operational lifespan without any notable degradation &mdash; bar the temperature sensor, which was noted to drift over time owing to moisture ingress.<img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNjQ4MDUwMjI1OTU0LXdvdmVuZGlzcGxheTIuanBnIiwiZWRpdHMiOnsicmVzaXplIjp7IndpZHRoIjo5NTAsImZpdCI6ImNvdmVyIn19fQ==" style="width: 300px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Diagrams showing various types of &quot;fiber devices,&quot; which are woven into a smart textile using a standard weaving loom. The finished &quot;smart textile system&quot; integrates an F-LED display, F-Touch inputs, F-RF antenna, F-Temperature sensor, F-Biosensor, F-Photodetector, and F-Energy storage system.">The smart fabric prototype was constructed using standard loom weaving techniques, and integrates a display output and a surprisingly wide range of inputs &mdash; all created using fiber technology. To prove the concept still further, the team tested the prototype for a range of tasks &mdash; aiming for at least one useful implementation of every F-device present. Example applications included installation of the smart fabric as a UV monitor on a window, capable of triggering the movement of blinds or activation of heating or ventilation systems via touch control; display of received signal strength from the fiber antenna; live temperature graphing; heart-rate monitoring; and automatic switching between &ldquo;display mode&rdquo; and &ldquo;monitoring mode&rdquo; depending on its distance to a radio-transmitting device.&ldquo;Our approach is built on the convergence of micro and nanotechnology, advanced displays, sensors, energy and technical textile manufacturing,&rdquo; says Professor Jong min Kim, project co-lead, in a write-up of the work <a href="https://www.wevolver.com/article/scientists-develop-fully-woven-smart-display/" target="_blank">published here on Wevolver</a>. &ldquo;This is a step towards the full exploitation of sustainable, convenient e-fibers and e-textiles in daily applications. And it&rsquo;s only the beginning.&rdquo;<img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNjQ4MDUwMjMzNDQ5LXdvdmVuZGlzcGxheTMuanBnIiwiZWRpdHMiOnsicmVzaXplIjp7IndpZHRoIjo5NTAsImZpdCI6ImNvdmVyIn19fQ==" style="width: 300px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Three images of the smart textile display system being used to graph temperature changes recorded by the F-Temperature sensor. An arrow goes from &quot;heating&quot; to &quot;cooling&quot; left-to-right to demonstrate the change being measured.">The integrated fiber devices can perform a range of tasks, from environmental monitoring to touch detection &mdash; and even track your heart rate.&ldquo;By integrating fiber-based electronics, photonic, sensing and energy functionalities, we can achieve a whole new class of smart devices and systems,&rdquo; adds fellow co-lead &nbsp;Dr Luigi Occhipinti. &ldquo;By unleashing the full potential of textile manufacturing, we could soon see smart and energy-autonomous Internet of Things devices that are seamlessly integrated into everyday objects and many other sector applications.&rdquo;The team&rsquo;s work has been published in the journal <cite><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-28459-6" target="_blank">Nature Communications</a></cite> under open-access terms; the codes used in the project are available <a href="https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/331012" target="_blank">via the University of Cambridge&rsquo;s Apollo system</a> upon application.<h1>Reference</h1>Hyung Woo Choi, Dong-Wook Shin, Jiajie Yang, Sanghyo Lee, C&aacute;tia Figueiredo, Stefano Sinopoli, Kay Ullrich, Petar Jovančić, Alessio Marrani, Roberto Moment&egrave;, Jo&atilde;o Gomes, Rita Branquinho, Umberto Emanuele, Hanleem Lee, Sang Yun Bang, Sung-Min Jung, Soo Deok Han, Shijie Zhan, William Harden-Chaters, Yo-Han Suh, Xiang-Bing Fan, Tae Hoon Lee, Mohamed Chowdhury, Youngjin Choi, Salvatore Nicotera, Andrea Torchia, Francesc Ma&ntilde;osa Moncunill, Virginia Garcia Candel, Nelson Dur&atilde;es, Kiseok Chang, Sunghee Cho, Chul-Hong Kim, Marcel Lucassen, Ahmed Nejim, David Jim&eacute;nez, Martijn Springer, Young-Woo Lee, SeungNam Cha, Jung Inn Sohn, Rui Igreja, Kyungmin Song, Pedro Barquinha, Rodrigo Martins, Gehan A. J. Amaratunga, Luigi G. Occhipinti, Manish Chhowalla, and Jong Min Kim: <cite>Smart textile lighting/display system with multifunctional fibre devices for large scale smart home and IoT applications, Nature Communications 13</cite>. DOI <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-28459-6" target="_blank">10.1038/s41467-022-28459-6</a>.

A prototype smart display, fully reproducible using industry-standard looms, is shown here being folded and rolled while retaining its performance.

Featuring "fiber devices" including a large-format display, temperature and ultraviolet sensors, a touch-sensitive input matrix, and even a heart-rate monitor, this foldable fabric is being positioned as a breakthrough for smart homes and the IoT.

A flexible, foldable, highly-integrated "smart fabric" could herald the future of the cuddlier Internet of Things

This article was first published on&nbsp;<a href="https://news.mit.edu/2022/fabric-acoustic-microphone-0316" id="isPasted" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">MIT News</a>.<hr>Having trouble hearing? Just turn up your shirt. That’s the idea behind a new “acoustic fabric” developed by engineers at MIT and collaborators at Rhode Island School of Design.The team has designed a fabric that works like a microphone, converting sound first into mechanical vibrations, then into electrical signals, similarly to how our ears hear.All fabrics vibrate in response to audible sounds, though these vibrations are on the scale of nanometers — far too small to ordinarily be sensed. To capture these imperceptible signals, the researchers created a flexible fiber that, when woven into a fabric, bends with the fabric like seaweed on the ocean’s surface.The fiber is designed from a “piezoelectric” material that produces an electrical signal when bent or mechanically deformed, providing a means for the fabric to convert sound vibrations into electrical signals.<img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1647686038262-MIT-Fiber-Microphone-02-PRESS.jpg" style="width: 766px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">The team wove the fiber with yarns to produce panels of drapable, machine-washable fabric. Image Greg HrenThe fabric can capture sounds ranging in decibel from a quiet library to heavy road traffic, and determine the precise direction of sudden sounds like handclaps. When woven into a shirt’s lining, the fabric can detect a wearer’s subtle heartbeat features. The fibers can also be made to generate sound, such as a recording of spoken words, that another fabric can detect. &nbsp;&nbsp;A study detailing the team’s design appears today in Nature. Lead author Wei Yan, who helped develop the fiber as an MIT postdoc, sees many uses for fabrics that hear.“Wearing an acoustic garment, you might talk through it to answer phone calls and communicate with others,” says Yan, who is now an assistant professor at the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. “In addition, this fabric can imperceptibly interface with the human&nbsp;skin, enabling&nbsp;wearers to monitor their heart and respiratory condition in a comfortable, continuous, real-time, and long-term manner.”Yan’s co-authors include Grace Noel, Gabriel Loke, Tural Khudiyev, Juliette Marion, Juliana Cherston, Atharva Sahasrabudhe, Joao Wilbert, Irmandy Wicaksono, and professors John Joannopoulos and Yoel Fink at MIT, along with Anais Missakian and Elizabeth Meiklejohn at Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), Lei Zhu from Case Western Reserve University, Chu Ma from the University of Wisconsin at Madison, and Reed Hoyt of the U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine.<img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1647686227282-MIT-Fiber-Microphone-03-PRESS.jpg" style="width: 766px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">The acoustic fiber can be woven with conventional yarns using a traditional loom. Image: Courtesy of the Fink Lab<h2>Sound layering</h2>Fabrics are traditionally used to dampen or reduce sound; examples include soundproofing in concert halls and carpeting in our living spaces. But Fink and his team have worked for years to refashion fabric’s conventional roles. They focus on extending properties in materials to make fabrics more functional. In looking for ways to make sound-sensing fabrics, the team took inspiration from the human ear.Audible sound travels through air as slight pressure waves. When these waves reach our ear, an exquisitely sensitive and complex three-dimensional organ, the tympanic membrane, or eardrum, uses a circular layer of fibers to translate the pressure waves into mechanical vibrations. These vibrations travel through small bones into the inner ear, where the cochlea converts the waves into electrical signals that are sensed and processed by the brain.Inspired by the human auditory system, the team sought to create a fabric “ear” that would be soft, durable, comfortable, and able to detect sound. Their research led to two important discoveries: Such a fabric would have to incorporate stiff, or “high-modulus,” fibers to effectively convert sound waves into vibrations. And, the team would have to design a fiber that could bend with the fabric and produce an electrical output in the process.With these guidelines in mind, the team developed a layered block of materials called a preform, made from a piezoelectric layer as well as ingredients to enhance the material’s vibrations in response to sound waves. The resulting preform, about the size of a thick marker, was then heated and pulled like taffy into thin, 40-meter-long fibers.<h2><img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1647686150878-MIT-Fiber-Microphone-04-PRESS.jpg" style="width: 766px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">In addition to wearable hearing aids, clothes that communicate, and garments that track vital signs, acoustic fabrics serve as dust-sensing spacecraft skin, and crack-detecting building coverings. Image: Courtesy of the Fink Lab</h2><h2>Lightweight listening</h2>The researchers tested the fiber’s sensitivity to sound by attaching it to a suspended sheet of mylar. They used a laser to measure the vibration of the sheet — and by extension, the fiber — in response to sound played through a nearby speaker. The sound varied in decibel between a quiet library and heavy road traffic. In response, the fiber vibrated and generated an electric current proportional to the sound played.“This shows that the performance of the fiber on the membrane is comparable to a handheld microphone,” Noel says.Next, the team wove the fiber with conventional yarns to produce panels of drapable, machine-washable fabric.“It feels almost like a lightweight jacket — lighter than denim, but heavier than a dress shirt,” says Meiklejohn, who wove the fabric using a standard loom.She sewed one panel to the back of a shirt, and the team tested the fabric’s sensitivity to directional sound by clapping their hands while standing at various angles to the shirt.“The fabric was able to detect the angle of the sound to within 1 degree at a distance of 3 meters away,” Noel notes.The researchers envision that a directional sound-sensing fabric could help those with hearing loss to tune in to a speaker amid noisy surroundings.The team also stitched a single fiber to a shirt’s inner lining, just over the chest region, and found it accurately detected the heartbeat of a healthy volunteer, along with subtle variations in the heart’s S1 and S2, or “lub-dub” features. In addition to monitoring one’s own heartbeat, Fink sees possibilities for incorporating the acoustic fabric into maternity wear to help monitor a baby’s fetal heartbeat.<img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1647686259066-MIT-Fiber-Microphone-05-PRESS.jpg" style="width: 766px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">Two panels of acoustic fabric sewed to the back of a dress shirt are able to determine the direction of sudden sounds such as handclaps. Image: Courtesy of the Fink LabFinally, the researchers reversed the fiber’s function to serve not as a sound-detector but as a speaker. They recorded a string of spoken words and fed the recording to the fiber in the form of an applied voltage. The fiber converted the electrical signals to audible vibrations, which a second fiber was able to detect.&nbsp;In addition to wearable hearing aids, clothes that communicate, and garments that track vital signs, the team sees applications beyond clothing.“It can be integrated with spacecraft skin to listen to (accumulating) space dust, or embedded into&nbsp;buildings to detect cracks or strains,” Yan proposes. “It can even be woven into a smart net to monitor fish in the ocean. The fiber is opening widespread opportunities.”“The learnings of this research offers quite literally a new way for fabrics to listen to our body and to the surrounding environment,” Fink says. “The dedication of our students, postdocs and staff to advancing research which has always marveled me is especially relevant to this work, which was carried out during the pandemic.”<hr><article id="isPasted">"Reprinted with permission of <a href="https://news.mit.edu/2022/fabric-acoustic-microphone-0316" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">MIT News</a>"</article>

An MIT team has designed an “acoustic fabric,” woven with a fiber that is designed from a “piezoelectric” material that produces an electrical signal when bent or mechanically deformed, providing a means for the fabric to convert sound vibrations into electrical signals. Image: Greg Hren

Inspired by the human ear, a new acoustic fabric converts audible sounds into electrical signals.

A fabric that "hears" your heart's sounds

This article is a part of our University Technology Exposure Program 2022. The program aims to recognize and reward innovation from engineering students and researchers across the globe.Wevolver, as a part of the University Technology Exposure Program 2022 provides an opportunity for students and researchers working in any discipline of engineering, technology, and science to present their innovations in front of hundreds of thousands of readers from the industry, academia, and beyond.&nbsp;The program has kicked off recently, and in this article, we present a summary of the&nbsp;6&nbsp;submissions we received as a part of the event.<h2 dir="ltr">Submissions received in February 2022</h2>#1. <a href="https://www.wevolver.com/article/novel-circuit-design-approach-makes-pressure-sensors-smaller-and-more-sensitive" target="_blank">Novel circuit design approach makes pressure sensors smaller and more sensitive</a>&nbsp;by <a href="https://www.wevolver.com/profile/mikhail.basov" target="_blank">Mikhail Basov</a>Micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) sensors are miniature devices built by fabricating mechanical and electronic components responsible for carrying out the sensing process on a silicon chip. These devices have the advantage of small size and are widely used in various sectors, including manufacturing industries, biomedical applications, consumer products, and more. Balancing the performance and size of components is one of the main challenges faced by an R&amp;D engineer working in the field of MEMS.New sensor design and fabrication processes add incremental improvements to the technology, but most sensors have used the classic Wheatstone bridge circuit for more than 50 years. Mikhail proposes a novel circuit design, ‘piezo sensitive differential amplifier with negative feedback loop (PDA-NFL)’, that aims to significantly improve the sensitivity and reduce the size of the sensor.&nbsp;Read the full article <a href="https://www.wevolver.com/article/novel-circuit-design-approach-makes-pressure-sensors-smaller-and-more-sensitive" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a>.<hr>#2. <a href="https://www.wevolver.com/article/small-wind-turbines-for-sustainable-livelihoods" target="_blank">Small Wind Turbines for sustainable livelihoods</a>&nbsp;by <a href="https://www.wevolver.com/profile/paul.chris.mwale" target="_blank">Paul Chris Mwale</a>The next article relates to a small wind turbine built with locally available resources like timber, scrap metal, junk electronics, and some salvaged parts from automobiles and household items. Paul, the author of the article, explains how he built the blades, generator, and control circuits for a fully functional wind turbine. Details about the blade design, electronic circuits, control algorithm, and the specifications of the developed windmill are explained briefly.&nbsp;Access the full article from this <a href="https://www.wevolver.com/article/small-wind-turbines-for-sustainable-livelihoods" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">link</a>.<hr>#3. <a href="https://www.wevolver.com/article/design-inspiration-from-woodpeckers-could-allow-robotic-arms-to-be-bendable-and-extendable" target="_blank">Design inspiration from woodpeckers could allow robotic arms to be bendable and extendable</a>&nbsp;by <a href="https://www.wevolver.com/profile/ayato.kanada" target="_blank">Ayato Kanada</a>The degree of freedom is the count of moving joints that a robot has. Robots with a limited degree of freedom face challenges in applications where obstacles need to be avoided. Continuum robots, on the other hand, have an infinite degree of freedom but lack of rigidity makes them unsuitable for carrying heavy objects.To address this problem, Ayato’s article presents a concept of a bendable and extendable robotic arm with structured stiffness. The idea is inspired by the woodpecker tongue, which is flexible but rigidly supported by bones. The team behind the project aims to combine the benefits of both conventional robotics and soft robotics to develop something like Dr. Octopus’ arms in reality.More on this <a href="https://www.wevolver.com/article/design-inspiration-from-woodpeckers-could-allow-robotic-arms-to-be-bendable-and-extendable" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a>.<hr>#4. <a href="https://www.wevolver.com/article/motion-planning-for-autonomous-vehicles-based-on-sequential-optimization" target="_blank">Motion Planning For Autonomous Vehicles Based On Sequential Optimization</a>&nbsp;by <a href="https://www.wevolver.com/profile/maksym.diachuk" target="_blank">Maksym Diachuk</a>Motion planning is one of the most critical aspects of developing an Autonomous Vehicle control algorithm. The difference between motion planning for industrial bots and autonomous vehicles lies primarily in the fact that vehicles move at high speeds and are directly concerned with the safety of lives.&nbsp;The article presents an overview of the new mathematical approach for planning autonomous vehicle motion in a constrained space. The aim of the proposed approach is to improve the quality of AV control in tracking.Read the article from this <a href="https://www.wevolver.com/article/motion-planning-for-autonomous-vehicles-based-on-sequential-optimization" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">link</a>.<hr>#5. <a href="https://www.wevolver.com/article/predictive-model-of-adaptive-cruise-control-speed-to-enhance-engine-operating-conditions" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Predictive Model of Adaptive Cruise Control Speed to Enhance Engine Operating Conditions</a>&nbsp;by <a href="https://www.wevolver.com/profile/srikanth.kolachalama" target="_blank">&nbsp;Srikanth Kolachalama</a>Cruise control is a feature that helps a vehicle maintain its speed when being driven on long loads. It reduces driver fatigue and is a commonly available feature in many personal vehicles. Adaptive Cruise Control takes a step forward by allowing vehicles to detect and adjust their speed depending on the presence and speeds of other vehicles.This article presents a novel methodology to predict the optimal Adaptive Cruise Control Set Speed Profile (ACCSSP) by optimizing the Engine Operating Conditions (EOC) considering Vehicle Level Vectors (VLV). The work investigates EOC criteria to develop a predictive model of ACCSSP in real-time.Access the article <a href="https://www.wevolver.com/article/predictive-model-of-adaptive-cruise-control-speed-to-enhance-engine-operating-conditions" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a>.<hr>#6. <a href="https://www.wevolver.com/article/a-choreomusical-e-textile-interactive-carpet" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">A choreomusical e-textile interactive carpet</a>&nbsp;by <a href="https://www.wevolver.com/profile/irmandy.wicaksono" target="_blank">Irmandy Wicaksono</a>When we think of smart fabrics, we usually associate them with wearable and fashion technology, such as clothing that can track health and physical activity or gloves that can sense tactile information or hand gestures.The final article published in the month of February 2022 comes from Irmandy, a Ph.D. scholar from MIT who describes a musical mat that simultaneously responds to touch, pressure, and proximity with musical sounds. MIT Media Lab researchers have developed a large-scale seamless interactive carpet and established an interdisciplinary project that unites new materials, sensing technologies, and advanced digital fabrication with contemporary dance and music.Read the complete article <a href="https://www.wevolver.com/article/a-choreomusical-e-textile-interactive-carpet" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a>.<hr><h2>Community voting begins</h2>We invite our readers to participate in the <a href="https://www.wevolver.com/utep-community-vote/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">community voting event</a> to show support for their favorite submissions. The links to the community voting event will be shared on Wevolver’s social media pages.&nbsp;The winner of the monthly community vote will be invited for an interview with Wevolver to discuss their innovation and the associated technology. This interview will be shared across all our social channels (with over 700,000 followers).<h2 dir="ltr">Conclusion</h2>Being a published author on Wevolver and showcasing the work in front of a huge engineering community can bring new networking and career opportunities for all the budding students and researchers out there.&nbsp;We will be back with another post next month featuring a brief summary of the latest submissions. We look forward to more insightful submissions. Visit the official page of the <a href="https://wevolver.com/student-program/" target="_blank">University Technology Exposure Program</a> to submit your article. The program ends on 31st July 2022.&nbsp;<h2 dir="ltr">About the University Technology Exposure Program 2022</h2>Wevolver, in partnership with <a href="https://mouser.com/" target="_blank">Mouser Electronics</a> and <a href="https://www.ansys.com/academic" target="_blank">Ansys</a>, is excited to announce the launch of the University Technology Exposure Program 2022. The program aims to recognize and reward innovation from engineering students and researchers across the globe. Learn more about the program <a href="http://www.wevolver.com/student-program" target="_blank">here</a>.<img alt="university-technology-exposure-program-mouser-ansys" src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNjQ2MDI2MjIzMDM0LTE2NDYwMjYyMjMwMzQucG5nIiwiZWRpdHMiOnsicmVzaXplIjp7IndpZHRoIjo5NTAsImZpdCI6ImNvdmVyIn19fQ==" class="fr-fic fr-dii">

Submissions received this month included articles related to instrumentation, renewable energy, robotics, automotive vehicles, and more. Presenting a small curation of all the innovative projects.

University Technology Exposure Program 2022: February Update

An international team of scientists have produced a fully woven smart textile display that integrates active electronic, sensing, energy and photonic functions. The functions are embedded directly into the fibres and yarns, which are manufactured using textile-based industrial processes.The researchers, led by the University of Cambridge, say their approach could lead to applications that sound like sci-fi: curtains that are also TVs, energy-harvesting carpets, and interactive, self-powered clothing and fabrics.This is the first time that a scalable large-area complex system has been integrated into textiles using an entirely fibre-based manufacturing approach. Their <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-28459-6" target="_blank">results</a> are reported in the journal Nature Communications.Despite recent progress in the development of smart textiles, their functionality, dimensions and shapes are limited by current manufacturing processes.Integrating specialised fibres into textiles through conventional weaving or knitting processes means they could be incorporated into everyday objects, which opens up a huge range of potential applications. However, to date, the manufacturing of these fibres has been size limited, or the technology has not been compatible with textiles and the weaving process.To make the technology compatible with weaving, the researchers coated each fibre component with materials that can withstand enough stretching so they can be used on textile manufacturing equipment. The team also braided some of the fibre-based components to improve their reliability and durability. Finally, they connected multiple fibre components together using conductive adhesives and laser welding techniques.Using these techniques together, they were able to incorporate multiple functionalities into a large piece of woven fabric with standard, scalable textile manufacturing processes.The resulting fabric can operate as a display, monitor various inputs, or store energy for later use. The fabric can detect radiofrequency signals, touch, light and temperature. It can also be rolled up, and because it’s made using commercial textile manufacturing techniques, large rolls of functional fabric could be made this way.The researchers say their prototype display paves the way to next-generation e-textile applications in sectors such as smart and energy-efficient buildings that can generate and store their own energy, Internet of Things (IoT), distributed sensor networks and interactive displays that are flexible and wearable when integrated with fabrics.“Our approach is built on the convergence of micro and nanotechnology, advanced displays, sensors, energy and technical textile manufacturing,” said Professor Jong min Kim, from Cambridge’s Department of Engineering, who co-led the research with Dr Luigi Occhipinti and Professor Manish Chhowalla. “This is a step towards the full exploitation of sustainable, convenient e-fibres and e-textiles in daily applications. And it’s only the beginning.”“By integrating fibre-based electronics, photonic, sensing and energy functionalities, we can achieve a whole new class of smart devices and systems,” said Occhipinti, also from Cambridge’s Department of Engineering. “By unleashing the full potential of textile manufacturing, we could soon see smart and energy-autonomous Internet of Things devices that are seamlessly integrated into everyday objects and many other sector applications.”The researchers are working with European collaborators to make the technology sustainable and useable for everyday objects. They are also working to integrate sustainable materials as fibre components, providing a new class of energy textile systems. Their flexible and functional smart fabric could eventually be made into batteries, supercapacitors, solar panels and other devices.The research was funded in part by the European Commission and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).<hr>Reference: H.W. Choi et al. <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-28459-6" target="_blank">‘Smart textile lighting/display system with multifunctional fibre devices for large scale smart home and IoT applications</a>.’ Nature Communications (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-28459-6

Researchers have developed a 46-inch woven display with smart sensors, energy harvesting and storage integrated directly into the fabric.

Scientists develop fully woven, smart display

<section id="isPasted">What would it be like to have garments in your wardrobe that can change colour or show videos like a computer screen? In her doctoral thesis, researcher and designer Angella Mackey takes this idea and runs with it. As it turns out, it is nothing like we imagined.</section><section tabindex="-1">Over the past twenty years we have seen LEDS, electroluminescence, thermo-chromic inks, e-ink, and other special materials dynamically animate and change the appearance of a garment’s surface. However, research into dynamic fabrics, as this kind of fabric is known, has been mostly at the technical level, concentrating on technological innovations or prototypical exemplars.<a href="https://research.tue.nl/en/persons/angella-mackey" target="_blank">Mackey</a>, who is part of the <a href="https://www.tue.nl/en/research/research-groups/future-everyday/" target="_blank">Future Everyday</a> lab at the department of Industrial Design,&nbsp;does not technologically develop the fabric per se. “Instead, I wanted to understand the everyday experience of it, by wearing it––as part of a wardrobe, how it might make one feel, look and act. Why would one want to change the pattern of a shirt? How might this change our relationship with our garments and each&nbsp;other?”<h2><style type="text/css" id="isPasted"></style><style type="text/css"></style>Greenscreen</h2>Using herself as a case study, Mackey wore green every day for one year in conjunction with a greenscreen app on her smartphone in order to change the colours, shapes and patterns on her clothing, documented here on <a href="http://www.instagram.com/angellamackey" target="_blank">Instagram</a>. “I did this to mimic the daily experiences of having garments in my wardrobe that could digitally change their surface decoration.”The researcher found a myriad of surprising ways one might decide to blend with their surroundings, wear images of grass and sky from the environment, navigate between digital and physical fashion experiences, or fend off her fabric from being hacked by others.<iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/312729991" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable" style="width: 767px; height: 432px;"></iframe>Video-clip showing Phem<h2 id="isPasted"><style type="text/css" id="isPasted"></style><style type="text/css"></style>Fictional Fashion</h2>Moreover, she created a fictional fashion brand called <a href="https://phem.design/" target="_blank">Phem</a> to explore designing with this dynamic fabric (as can be seen in the&nbsp;Vimeo-clip on the left).&nbsp;She examines and articulates the struggles a fashion designer could encounter when adapting their practice to working with a mix of physical and digital materials which can be helpful to engineers, wearables designers, textile designers, or fashion designers alike. “My research offers a collection of intimate, first-person accounts of wearing dynamic, colour-changing fabric that I hope will be valuable to companies developing such fabrics now and in the future.”By blending strategies from research-through-design, autobiographical design and speculative design in order to ‘create’ the dynamic fabric she wears and designs with–– Mackey gives other researchers a unique way to explore the experience of a future-based technology, without that technology existing quite yet.<hr>Angella Mackey will defend her thesis research on Wednesday 27 October.Title of PhD-thesis:&nbsp;<a href="https://pure.tue.nl/ws/portalfiles/portal/188891438/20211027_Mackey_hf_v2.pdf" target="_blank">Rethinking Dynamic Fabric through Wearing and Designing</a>. Supervisors: Ron Wakkary (SFU, TU/e)], Stephan Wensveen (TU/e), and Annika Hupfeld (TU/e). Other main parties involved: Koen van Os (Signify), Oscar Tomico (ELISAVA, TU/e), ArcInTex.&nbsp;This research&nbsp;has been&nbsp;supported by the H2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions grant agreement No. 642328.This article was first published here:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.tue.nl/en/news-and-events/news-overview/01-01-1970-whats-it-like-to-wear-dynamic-fabric/" id="isPasted" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.tue.nl/en/news-and-events/news-overview/01-01-1970-whats-it-like-to-wear-dynamic-fabric/</a></section>

Angella Mackay demonstrates the greenscreen app

Angella Mackey explored the wondrous possibilities of shapeshifting designs

What's it like to wear dynamic fabric?

When MIT and the Fashion Institute of Technology (<a href="https://www.fitnyc.edu/" target="_blank">FIT</a>) joined forces to advance textile research and to develop and employ sustainable fabrics of the future, they found that their work was so synergistic that they were compelled to write an instruction manual about their multi-year partnership so that other organizations could replicate their process and benefit from their work.“Transdisciplinary Innovation Playbook: How to build a virtual workshop that collapses walls between design and engineering and kick-starts collaboration to solve real world problems” codifies the partnership between MIT, FIT, and the Advanced Functional Fabrics of America (AFFOA), which supported the work, into something of a template that other institutions can follow in order to develop their own innovative programs.The playbook — based around MIT and FIT’s design and engineering synergy — is a model for successfully embarking on innovative partnerships. The manual offers step-by-step considerations for how to build interdisciplinary workshops that prepare students to think beyond their specializations and to tackle real-world problems together. It covers how to find an industry partner and what matters in a successful partnership, how to build an effective challenge, how to recruit faculty, how to plan a budget, and how to create a curriculum. “Use our story to write your own,” the playbook encourages.<h2>Multiyear partnership</h2>In 2017, after a meeting between FIT President Joyce F. Brown and MIT President L. Rafael Reif, Joanne Arbuckle, former&nbsp;deputy to the president for industry partnerships and collaborative programs at FIT, and Gregory C. Rutledge, the&nbsp;Lammot du Pont Professor in Chemical Engineering at MIT, created a plan to build a bridge between design and engineering — and to help boost the textile industry along the way.How and why might their two missions merge? MIT scientists are advancing textile research that could change the world, while FIT designers, long renowned for their creativity, are developing the sustainable fabrics of the future. The overlapping synergies seemed destined for collaboration. What unexpected discoveries might occur if these students worked together? FIT and MIT wanted to find out and approached AFFOA to help realize this vision.The playbook is an outgrowth of the resulting multiyear partnership. Since 2018, students from each institution have participated in three workshops during which they gather in small teams to develop product concepts exploring the use of advanced fibers and fabric technology. The&nbsp;<a href="https://news.mit.edu/2019/mit-and-fit-join-forces-create-innovative-textiles-0717" target="_blank">workshops</a> — which have pivoted to a remote experience since the Covid-19 pandemic — have been held collaboratively with AFFOA. AFFOA is a Cambridge, Massachusetts–based nonprofit public-private partnership whose mission is to rekindle the domestic textiles industry by leading a nationwide enterprise for advanced fiber and fabric technology development and manufacturing, enabling revolutionary system capabilities for national security and commercial markets. A key part of AFFOA’s mission is to inspire, prepare, and grow the next-generation workforce for the advanced fiber and fabric industry.Part of the students’ work has been the opportunity to respond to a project challenge posed by footwear and apparel manufacturer New Balance, a member of the AFFOA network. Students spent their first week in Cambridge learning new technologies at MIT and the second at FIT, working on projects and prototypes.“Collaboration and teamwork are DNA-level attributes of the New Balance workplace,” says Chris Wawrousek, senior creative design lead in the New Balance Innovation Studio. “We were very excited to participate in the program from a multitude of perspectives. The program allowed us to see some of the emerging research in the field of technical textiles. In some cases, these technologies are still very nascent, but give us a window into future developments.”<h2>Many ideas</h2>Over the years, teams of students have developed innovative and forward-thinking projects that have moved the needle on design and technology. A few examples of the teams are:<ul><li>Team&nbsp;Natural Futurism, which presented a concept to develop a biodegradable lifestyle shoe using natural material alternatives, including bacterial cellulose and mycelium, and advanced fiber concepts to avoid use of chemical dyes;</li><li>Team CoMIT to Safety Before ProFIT, which&nbsp;explored the various ways that runners get hurt, sometimes from acute injuries but more often from overuse;</li><li>Team Peacock, which prototyped athletic apparel with color-changing material to highlight an athlete's movement and quickly&nbsp;analyze motion through an app;</li><li>Team Ecollab, which designed apparel and footwear using PE (polyethylene) and color changing material that is multifaceted and environmentally conscious; and</li><li>Team Laboratory 56, which created footwear to enhance longevity of product and reduce waste using PE, while connecting with the community through a recycling app program.</li></ul>“We’re excited to see how the release of this playbook opens up the minds of students across the country to the possibility of working in an interdisciplinary environment, and in advanced textiles. We see a continuing need for a workforce that is agile, innovative, and able to apply higher-order thinking to develop the future of the industry, and believe this playbook will play a part in that development,” says Sasha Stolyarov, CEO of AFFOA.“These kinds of partnerships are so valuable for both teams — the design students get to work in a team environment engaging in the latest technologies, while the engineering students use their creativity in a new way,” says Arbuckle. “So if the MIT/FIT collaboration can be a model for other institutions to do something similar, then these kinds of interactions and the invention of products they create together can help define our future.”“When designers and engineers come together and open their minds to creating new technologies that ultimately will impact the world, we can imagine exciting new multi-material fibers that reveal a new spectrum of applications,” says Yuly Fuentes,&nbsp;<a href="https://mrl.mit.edu/" target="_blank">MIT Materials Research Laboratory</a> project manager for fiber technologies. “Being able to share what we’ve learned through this playbook brings this process to a different level and makes it possible that this kind of thinking will become more widespread.”

Caption:The MIT-FIT Team Laboratory 56's prototype footwear design enhances longevity and reduces waste. Credits: Image: MIT and FIT

How-to manual from MIT and the Fashion Institute of Technology codifies successful textiles partnership between designers, engineers.

Why the future of textiles is collaborative

In this episode, we talk about how MIT has built a magic carpet to avoid privacy concerns with human body tracking, an initiative from Texas A&amp;M to track nanoparticles in produce, and the novel approach from Carnegie Mellon to turn household items into sensors. As always, you can find these and other interesting &amp; impactful engineering articles on Wevolver.com.&nbsp;<iframe height="200px" width="100%" frameborder="no" scrolling="no" seamless="" src="https://player.simplecast.com/822298b9-36db-465c-a645-759904d95e7a?dark=false" class="fr-draggable"></iframe> <h3 id="isPasted">EPISODE NOTES</h3>Take a few seconds to leave us a review. It really helps! <a href="https://apple.co/2RIsbZ2" target="_blank">https://apple.co/2RIsbZ2</a> if you do it and send us proof, we’ll give you a shoutout on the show.(1:30) - <a href="https://www.wevolver.com/article/intelligent-carpet-gives-insight-into-human-poses" target="_blank">The Magic Carpet</a>: &nbsp;MIT researchers have created a carpet with thousands of sensors to monitor pressure changes from people’s movement. The data is then fed into a machine learning algorithm that can estimate someone’s 3D positioning with a 97% accuracy.(8:40) - <a href="https://www.wevolver.com/article/machine-learning-can-now-reduce-worry-about-nanoparticles-in-food" target="_blank">Detecting Nanoparticles in Food</a>: &nbsp;Nanoparticles have been used increasingly in the farming industry and people are becoming more concerned about how much makes its way into produce. Researchers at Texas A&amp;M made a machine learning model to predict how much might be in the food you eat.(14:30) - <a href="https://www.wevolver.com/article/fabric-friendly-sensors" target="_blank">Fabric-Friendly Sensors</a>: &nbsp;Ever wanted the electronics in your home to do what you want without you actually having to do anything? Carnegie Mellon researchers have created a sensing system which can be seamlessly integrated into your couch, blanket, or any other fabric.--About the podcast:Every day, some of the most innovative universities, companies, and individual technology developers share their knowledge on Wevolver. To ensure we can also provide this knowledge for the growing group of podcast listeners, we started a collaboration with two young engineers, Daniel Scott Mitchell &amp; Farbod Moghaddam who discuss the most interesting content in this podcast series.&nbsp;To learn more about this show, please visit the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wevolver.com/profile/the.next.byte" target="_blank">shows page</a>. By following the page, you will get automatic updates by email when a new show is published.Be sure to give us a follow and review on&nbsp;<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/nl/podcast/the-next-byte/id1548255861?l=en" target="_blank">Apple</a> podcasts,&nbsp;<a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/6lPPsRtegnivsRUEsQ09R7?si=IPMiah7xT_apJtPjqvXMlA" target="_blank">Spotify</a>, and most of your favorite podcast platforms!

In this episode, we talk about how MIT has built a magic carpet to avoid privacy concerns with human body tracking, an initiative from Texas A&M to track nanoparticles in produce, and the novel approach from Carnegie Mellon to turn household items into sensors.

Podcast: MIT's Magic Carpet, Nanoparticles in Your Food, Turning Fabric into Smart Devices

In this episode, we talk about how a research team led by MIT has found a way to create functional textiles from polyethylene, rumors surrounding the Apple car, and EPFL&rsquo;s newest iteration of a retinal implant. As always, you can find these and other interesting &amp; impactful engineering articles on Wevolver.com. &nbsp;<iframe height="200px" width="100%" frameborder="no" scrolling="no" seamless="" src="https://player.simplecast.com/b9d818f3-5ab0-4c44-aedf-84114d57d281?dark=false" class="fr-draggable">&nbsp;</iframe><h3>EPISODE NOTES</h3>(0:43) - Sustainable FashionAn international team composed of 7 different institutions led by Dr. Svetlana Boriskina has achieved a polyethylene textile that is more breathable, moisture wicking, and environmentally friendly than the materials mostly used in the fashion industry.(7:00) -&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wevolver.com/article/the-apple-car-what-we-know-so-far" target="_blank">Apple Car Insights</a>Apple&rsquo;s secret car - which was first hinted at in 2014 as Project Titan - seems to be making progress but not without some bumps along the way.(12:10) &nbsp;- Sharper Bionic EyesEPFL has announced a new iteration of their retinal implant which offers a greater resolution and field of view to address some of the limitations of their original design that was trialed in 2013.--About the podcast:Every day, some of the most innovative universities, companies, and individual technology developers share their knowledge on Wevolver. To ensure we can also provide this knowledge for the growing group of podcast listeners, we started a collaboration with two young engineers, Daniel Scott Mitchell &amp; Farbod Moghaddam who discuss the most interesting content in this podcast series.&nbsp;To learn more about this show, please visit the <a href="https://www.wevolver.com/profile/the.next.byte" target="_blank">shows page</a>. By following the page, you will get automatic updates by email when a new show is published.Be sure to give us a follow and review on&nbsp;<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/nl/podcast/the-next-byte/id1548255861?l=en" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Apple</a> podcasts,&nbsp;<a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/6lPPsRtegnivsRUEsQ09R7?si=IPMiah7xT_apJtPjqvXMlA" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Spotify</a>, and most of your favorite podcast platforms!

MIT researchers design a new kind of sustainable textile from polyethylene fibers that may help humans adapt to and combat the effects of climate change. Credits:Image: Felice Frankel, Christine Daniloff, MIT

In this episode, we talk about how a research team led by MIT has found a way to create functional textiles from polyethylene, rumors surrounding the Apple car, and EPFL’s newest iteration of a retinal implant.

Podcast: Sustainable Fashion, Apple Car Insights, Sharper Bionic Eyes

Yoel Fink stands under an unassuming LED ceiling lamp wearing what appears to be just an ordinary baseball cap. &ldquo;Do you hear it?&rdquo; he asks. Semiconductor technology within the fibers of the hat is converting the audio encoded in light pulses to electrical pulses, he explains, and those pulses are then converted to sound. &ldquo;This is one of the first examples of an advanced fabric. It looks like an ordinary hat but it&rsquo;s really a sophisticated optical communication system.&rdquo;Fink and his team are shaping a new destiny for fabrics. Clothing as a communications system: A hat that picks up light transmissions and converts them to sound can hold life-saving potential. &ldquo;Think about pedestrian safety and self-driving cars. Tremendous investments are going into cars. How about the pedestrians? Do we as pedestrians or bikers get to know if the car has detected us?&rdquo; Fink asks. &ldquo;With fabric optical communications your baseball cap can not only alert a car to your presence but importantly let you know if the car detected you. Fabrics for the self-driving future.&rdquo;This is just one example, Fink says, of how the next generation of fabrics could change how we think about all of them. An MIT professor of materials science and electrical engineering and CEO of Advanced Functional Fabrics of America (AFFOA), a $300 million institute on the edge of campus, Fink is eager to share his enthusiasm for fabrics with the MIT community. &ldquo;While all of this originated in basic science and engineering, we are focusing our efforts on transition to manufacturing and product,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;We would not be here today if not for MIT&rsquo;s focus on the importance of transitioning technology to the marketplace.&rdquo;Fink is a high-energy ideas person. He walks quickly and talks even faster during a tour of the AFFOA facility. He and his staff lean toward the same casual clothing &ndash; t-shirts and jeans (his are typically black, &ldquo;the fastest way to lose two pounds&rdquo; he quips), and there is a pronounced clarity of purpose as he darts through the building, highlighting the rapid prototyping space and describing AFFOA&rsquo;s national advanced fabric prototyping network and the dozens of fabric ventures it&rsquo;s helping to get started.The overarching plan is to increase the value of fabrics to society, transforming them from something you buy-use-throw away to a platform for experiences and services such as communications and design-on-demand. Transforming fabrics requires new types of fiber technologies that encompass communications, energy storage, color change, physiological monitoring, and more. &ldquo;We are proposing a &lsquo;Moore&rsquo;s Law&rsquo; analog for fibers,&rdquo; Fink says. Just as the capabilities of microchips have grown exponentially over the last several decades, the capabilities of fibers are about to take off.To enable a transformation of this magnitude one needs partners, AFFOA has assembled 130 organizations into a national advanced fabric prototyping network. Many from industry are involved in dozens of projects aimed at getting &ldquo;Moore&rsquo;s law fibers&rdquo; into their products and processes. To rapidly engage industry and academia AFFOA has launched an innovative MicroAward program that is 12 weeks in duration and involves rapid iterations between AFFOA and a member seeking to address challenges in getting advanced fibers into fabrics and product. &ldquo;At AFFOA our year is 90 days long. We call it shot-clock innovation,&rdquo; says Fink.These new &ldquo;advanced fabrics&rdquo; incorporate high-speed semiconductor devices, including light-emitting diodes and diode photodetectors, into soft fabric materials. &ldquo;A lot of groups in the world today talk about &lsquo;smart fabrics&rsquo; but in fact end up just inserting conductive materials into fabrics,&rdquo; Fink says. &ldquo;Metals on their own cannot do very complex operations. You can&rsquo;t compute with a piece of metal,&rdquo; Fink says. &ldquo;To get sophisticated functionality into anything, you better involve the basic ingredient of modern technology &ndash; a semiconductor, which is what we are focusing on. We like to think about fabrics as the new software, capturing the opportunities to create new experiences and services through fabrics much in the same way that software has done over the past decade. For that we need not only technology but importantly entrepreneurs and investors to achieve that transformation and industry to make the product and help inform consumer preferences.&rdquo;Fink traces the root of his success to MIT&rsquo;s meritocratic culture, it&rsquo;s entrepreneurial spirit, the presence of mentors, and embrace of game-changing ideas. As an MIT student, Fink developed the confidence to ask a group of professors a question that led him to the basis for the discovery of a new type of mirror that has since been commercialized and used to treat hundreds and thousands of patients as part of a life-saving medical device. It also laid the groundwork for the creation of AFFOA. &ldquo;I think there is a lot of respect for students built into the system at MIT. People realize that ideas come from different directions and from all levels, that student sitting in front of you may eventually discover a cure for a disease, discover a fundamental law or form a great company so you are always listening. I found my calling at MIT and that led to where I am today,&rdquo; he says.

With an enthusiastic team, Yoel Fink, a professor of materials science and electrical engineering and CEO of Advanced Functional Fabrics of America (AFFOA), a $300 million institute on the edge of campus, is shaping a new destiny for fabrics.  Photo: Lillie Paquette/School of Engineering

Professor Yoel Fink is helping MIT lead the way in transforming the fabric materials in our lives.

Fabrics are the future

Smart shirts capable of tracking heart rate, skin-like sensors to measure recovery after a stroke, and tattoo-like devices to monitor glucose levels in people with diabetes &mdash; these are some of the flexible electronics that engineers hope one day to design.To facilitate this need for flexibility, Stanford researchers are reinventing wires, circuits and transistors that can stretch and bend the way our bodies do.&nbsp;Some of the strategies for designing such body-hugging circuitry are based in part on the use of carbon nanotubes and silver nanowires that have been engineered for flexibility. But there&rsquo;s a catch: Experiments have shown that when flexible nanowires are stretched, these materials lose some of their conductance, which impedes their ability to transmit electricity and robs systems of the predictable performance that is the prerequisite for designing reliable products. More puzzling yet, when the stretch is released, conductance remains in a lowered state. This unpredictability has made flexible nanowires difficult to work with because engineers want to know in advance precisely how components will behave when they are used.&ldquo;This phenomenon had been reported before, but nobody had found an explanation for it,&rdquo; said <a href="https://profiles.stanford.edu/wei-cai" target="_blank">Wei Cai</a>, associate professor of mechanical engineering, senior author in a Stanford team that has not only discovered why conductivity changes but has developed a way to predict the performance of bendable nanowires.&ldquo;Instead of a big question mark or a lot of trial and error, we provide a model on which people can base their designs,&rdquo; said Cai.He <a href="http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2018/02/09/1717217115" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">published these findings</a> in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences along with six co-authors. By creating this predictive framework, they have laid the groundwork for engineers to not merely imagine but design, prototype and, one day, produce electronics that stretch and bend in useful ways.<h2>When nanowires stretch</h2>Our current conception of a wire is akin to a rope, which can only be tugged so far. Recognizing the need for a new paradigm to define what constitutes a wire, flexible circuit designers have turned to carbon nanotubes, conductive materials that might be imagined as infinitesimal bits of hair scattered on a barbershop floor. In a delicate process, engineers spray a network of these overlapping electron highways onto rectangles of a rubbery substance to form a stretchy sheet of circuit film. Electrons zip from one end of the carbon film to the other, moving along the tubes and, when necessary, jumping from tube to tube.How fast electrons move through the film depends on the inherent conductivity of the carbon nanotube, the length of the individual tubes, the length of the rectangle and the ease with which electrons can transfer from one tube to another.When experimentalists have stretched these rubber rectangles up to twice their original dimensions, the conductivity of the nanotube networks goes down and the resistance goes up. That makes basic electronic sense. The longer the rectangle, the further the electrons must travel.But when the rubber circuits were allowed to snap back to their original size, resistance remained high and conductivity low. Researchers didn&rsquo;t understand why until the Stanford team figured it out.Imagine a tangled web of rubber jump ropes loosely attached to an elastic tarp. When you stretch the tarp, the ropes will slide against each other and get longer. But when you release the tarp, the ropes don&rsquo;t snap back to their preliminary positions. They buckle and curl into each other, and that&rsquo;s what happens with the carbon nanotubes. They end up with a wavier shape, said Lihua Jin, a former postdoctoral candidate at Stanford, now an assistant professor in mechanical and aerospace engineering at UCLA, and the first author on the paper.The team saw this pattern emerge in their simulations and then reproduced those results in experiments. Using this data, they figured out how to account mathematically for this wavy transformation. &ldquo;Each tube is still conducting, but when you stretch it and then it comes back to the original shape, the tubes have a different arrangement,&rdquo; said Cai. &ldquo;That gives you a different conductivity.&rdquo;Essentially, the Stanford formula is based on the interim length between the end points of each tube. After a tube is stretched and released, it curls into itself, resembling the letter &ldquo;S.&rdquo; The Stanford engineers take the &ldquo;S&rdquo; shape and draw a straight line between the two end points. That line becomes the hypotenuse of a right triangle. The remaining two sides of the triangle give researchers two distances: one that follows the stretching direction and one that is perpendicular to the stretching direction.&ldquo;If you have a tube that lies mostly along the stretching direction, then it does not contribute to conductance in the perpendicular direction,&rdquo; said Jin. Basically, the researchers need to know the average conductivity in the stretching direction as well as the perpendicular direction.Researchers average together all the stretching distances and then all the perpendicular distances. The next step is to create a ratio between those mean lengths and the length of the rubber circuit. When that ratio changes, so do the electronic characteristics of the rubber circuit. If you stretch a film 60 percent, for example, the resistance always doubles. That&rsquo;s true no matter the starting size.&ldquo;We have stumbled upon a general behavior,&rdquo; said Cai. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s not like you need carbon nanotubes from a particular vendor and with this diameter and length; as long as you have a lot of thin wires on a film, you see this principle.&rdquo;<h2>&ldquo;Closer to reality&rdquo;</h2>Their work provides circuit designers with certainty, guidelines and predictions for making these flexible material systems. The process is no longer a shot in the dark. After the first stretch, the conductivity remains constant. So, manufacturers will one day be able to pre-stretch one of these flexible nanowire constructs and, as long as they don&rsquo;t overstretch it past the pre-engineered point, be confident in its conductive stability and ultimate usefulness as a product.This knowledge could also be useful for making sensors. For example, a patient recovering from a hand injury is working on making a fist. With a sensor placed on the knuckle, each time the conductivity changes, the doctor would know that the patient has stretched a little bit more.The next step for Cai and his team at Stanford is to tackle the same question for using nanotubes as semiconductors, which involves discovering how the electrical properties of stretchable transistors change with the deformation that occurs when they are bent.&ldquo;These flexible systems are becoming closer and closer to reality,&rdquo; Cai said.

To make ‘smart clothing’ with built-in sensors, engineers need to design stretchable wire arrays.  |  Image courtesy of Wei Cai and Lihua Jin

fabrics

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