New research from the Universities of Bristol and Bath reveals that everyday clothing could soon have the ability to track and store body movements.
A new technique involves integrating conductive threads into garment seams to form electrical circuits that can detect body movements by applying harmless low voltages. These threads change resistance based on the wearer’s movements, paving the way for creating digital clothing that can accurately monitor movements better than current smartphones and smart watches.
Presented at the Designing Interactive Systems (DIS) conference in Copenhagen on 3 July, this study sets the stage for e-textile designers and clothing manufacturers to develop innovative garments that could enhance exercise routines, physiotherapy, and rehabilitation processes.
Professor Mike Fraser from the University of Bristol’s School of Computer Science expressed enthusiasm, stating, “We see great potential for clothing manufacturers to incorporate our designs into sleeves and other garment seams.
“Our research demonstrates that standard garment seams, like overlocked seams, can effectively sense movement without the need for a separate power source. By combining the seam with a charging coil, it can wirelessly draw energy from a mobile phone placed in the pocket.
“This approach eliminates the need to modify existing manufacturing processes to create advanced motion-sensing garments.
“Additionally, we’ve shown that smartphone applications leveraging advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques can utilize this movement data to correlate body movements with specific postures or gestures, such as physiotherapeutic exercises.”
During the conference, the team presented a short film showcasing the workings of this technology.
