Scientists develop computerised fabrics that change their colour and shape in response to movement

Updated on: Friday, April 19, 2013

Scientists have taken a quantum leap in textile design by developing computerised fabrics that change their colour and shape in response to movement of the human body.

Joanna Berzowska, professor and chair of the Department of Design and Computation Arts at Concordia University, Canada has developed interactive electronic fabrics that harness power directly from the human body, store that energy, and then use it to change the garments' visual properties.

"Our goal is to create garments that can transform in complex and surprising ways - far beyond reversible jackets, or shirts that change colour in response to heat. That's why the project is called Karma Chameleon," said Berzowska.

The major innovation of this research project is the ability to embed these electronic or computer functions within the fibre itself: rather than being attached to the textile, the electronic components are woven into these new composite fibres.

The fibres consist of multiple layers of polymers, which, when stretched and drawn out to a small diameter, begin to interact with each other.

The fabric, produced in collaboration with the Ecole Polytechnique's Maksim Skorobogatiy, represent a significant advance in the development of 'smart textiles'.

Although it's not yet possible to manufacture clothing with the new composite fibres, Berzowska worked with fashion designers to create conceptual prototypes that can help us visualise how such clothing might look and behave.

"We won't see such garments in stores for another 20 or 30 years, but the practical and creative possibilities are exciting," said Berzowska.

The findings will be presented at the Smart Fabrics 2013 conference in San Francisco this week.

Scientists develop computerised fabrics that change their colour and shape in response to movement

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