“Ever since the gung-ho 1990s, technology visionaries have been predicting the day when electronics built into the clothes on our backs and the fabrics in our furniture would act as invisible servants, linking us to the myriad smart machines that would comprise the modern home. Why isn’t real life like this?” Newsweek asks…
Here are some quotes from an analysis written by ACM TechNews.
Perhaps the biggest barrier to the adoption of electronic clothing is its fashion value, but that may change thanks to the work of Georgia Institute of Technology engineer Sundaresan Jayaraman.
Jayaraman’s breakthrough electronic fabric, which melds natural fibers with extremely thin wires and optical fibers, is the basis of the SmartShirt, a product from Sensatex that will be initially marketed for medical applications, such as monitoring vital signs and transmitting them to nearby computers, or alerting medical centers or emergency services if the wearer is suffering a heart attack or other medical episode.
Jayaraman explains that the e-fabric acts as a sort of wearable motherboard that conducts electrical and optical signals to devices the wearer clips on externally. He says the fabric itself should only contain basic components—a power source, some memory, and a central processing unit.
Marketing the technology for consumers will be especially challenging: Jayaraman notes that the key to wide consumer appeal is making the technology invisible as well as simple to use. The Georgia Tech engineer terms such technology interactive textiles (i-textiles), and foresees networks of e-clothing that communicate with each other.
via Smartmobs
