Unique smart fabric is the first to change both colour and shape in response to two different stimuli
A new smart material developed by researchers at the University of Waterloo is activated by both heat and electricity, making it the first ever to respond to two different stimuli.
The unique design paves the way for a wide variety of potential applications, including clothing that warms up while you walk from the car to the office in winter and vehicle bumpers that return to their original shape after a collision.
Inexpensively made with polymer nano-composite fibres from recycled plastic, the programmable fabric can change its colour and shape when stimuli are applied.
“As a wearable material alone, it has almost infinite potential in AI, robotics and virtual reality games and experiences,” said Dr. Milad Kamkar, a chemical engineering professor at Waterloo. “Imagine feeling warmth or a physical trigger eliciting a more in-depth adventure in the virtual world.”
The novel fabric design is a product of the happy union of soft and hard materials, featuring a combination of highly engineered polymer composites and stainless steel in a woven structure.
Researchers created a device similar to a traditional loom to weave the smart fabric. The resulting process is extremely versatile, enabling design freedom and macro-scale control of the fabric’s properties.
The fabric can also be activated by a lower voltage of electricity than previous systems, making it more energy-efficient and cost-effective. In addition, lower voltage allows integration into smaller, more portable devices, making it suitable for use in biomedical devices and environment sensors.
“The idea of these intelligent materials was first bred and born from biomimicry science,” said Kamkar, director of the Multi-scale Materials Design (MMD) Centre at Waterloo.
“Through the ability to sense and react to environmental stimuli such as temperature, this is proof of concept that our new material can interact with the environment to monitor ecosystems without damaging them.”
The next step for researchers is to improve the fabric’s shape-memory performance for applications in the field of robotics. The aim is to construct a robot that can effectively carry and transfer weight to complete tasks.
Original Article: New programmable smart fabric responds to temperature and electricity
More from: University of Waterloo
The Latest Updates from Bing News
Go deeper with Bing News on:
Programmable smart fabric
- How implementing a trust fabric strengthens identity and network
Read about Microsoft's vision for a trust fabric that brings together identity, network, and endpoint controls.
- Where Data Fabric Meets GenAI at Data Summit 2024
Other drivers for implementing a data fabric architecture include enabling less technical users to quickly find, access, integrate, and share data, as well as generally reducing the cycle time of ...
- How to Accelerate AI-Driven Decision Intelligence with Smart Data Fabric
Join the upcoming webinar to learn how a smart data fabric can be used to unify data across disparate sources and accelerate AI-driven decision intelligence.
- Microchip introduces radiation-tolerant PolarFire SoC FPGAs for space applications
Developers of spacecraft electronics use radiation-tolerant (RT) field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) to ensure high performance, reliability, power-efficiency and security for emerging space domain ...
- Revolutionizing Connectivity: New Programmable Antenna Sets the Stage for 6G Advancements
With 5G nearing its waning phase, 6G could be next to bring high-speed data transmission, leading to holograms and uninterrupted communications.
Go deeper with Bing News on:
Smart material
- Smart Agriculture Poised For Growth, Set To Hit $36.24 Billion By 2030
Rising Cancer Rates Drive Biotech Advancements Despite Political Hurdles Dick's, NIKE to Host“It's Her Shot” Tour GM Can Regain ...
- 'Smart' contact lenses could someday enable wireless glaucoma detection
Most people with early-stage glaucoma don't know they have it, even though early treatment is key to reducing vision loss. While detecting a subtle increase in eye pressure helps doctors to diagnose ...
- Escuela SMART Academy educators recognized for Teacher Appreciation Day
Kelvin Santiago teaches third through sixth grade and Crystal Mosqueda teaches preschool through third grade at Escuela SMART Academy in Toledo.
- Goodbye to Apple’s Smart Keyboard Folio, the best iPad Pro accessory
Sure enough, the Smart Keyboard Folio isn’t compatible with the OLED iPad Pros. The 11-inch version can still be used with the sixth-generation iPad Air, but that’s all. So if you’re set on Apple’s ...
- Apple iPad 2024 All-New Magic Keyboard and Smart Folio
Apple has released a new Magic Keyboard to complement the launch of the new 2024 iPad Pro iPads powered by Apple's M4 silicon chips ...