What is Smart Fabric?
Smart fabric is considered one of the important questions that have been raised in recent years. Smart fabrics represent a new type of textiles that, with a set of extraordinary features, have attracted the attention of various people. In this text, we intend to introduce you to these fabrics, as well as their important applications. Join us to get fully acquainted with the types of modern fabrics.
Definition of Smart Fabrics
Smart fabrics, also known as electronic or intelligent fabrics, as their name suggests, are types of textiles with electronic components that enhance products such as clothing, automotive exterior covers, and other items. They are produced as an industry-based electronic product. The following terms are also used to refer to smart fabrics:
- Technical fabrics
- Smart fabrics
- Functional materials
- Performance fabrics
- Nano fabrics
- Electronic fabrics
- Smart fibers
- Flexible circuits
Smart fabrics, like the Lumia Electronic Layer (LEL), can have special properties such as heating, lighting, and more. It is noteworthy that some smart fabric technologies, such as LEL, can also be applied on other surfaces like wood and polycarbonate. But in your opinion, what is the most important moment in the history of smart fabrics?
History of Smart Fabrics
The history of smart fabrics includes several golden moments that must definitely be highlighted. Understanding these moments is essential for a full grasp of the products. Some of these key moments are:
- 1600: It is said that the first conductive threads date back to the time of Queen Elizabeth I, when gold threads were used in clothing to make them shine. Today, we mostly use silver or nickel threads for conductivity, but the idea of using metallic threads for garment decoration has existed for centuries.
- 2007: A microcontroller specifically made for smart textiles was developed (Adafruit later produced its own version called Flora).
- 2014: Dupont introduced its conductive and stretchable ink at Printed Electronics 2014.
- 2014: MIT Biosuit was introduced.
- 2015: Google’s Jacquard Project steered technology toward electronic textiles at Google I/O.
- 2015: Studios like Wearable Experiments, Interwoven, and The Crated pioneered new methods for producing electronic textiles and invisible wearable technology.
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Passive and Active Smart Fabrics
There are two main technologies for smart fabrics: passive and active. Passive smart fabrics possess properties beyond traditional woven fabrics but are generally less advanced. So, what is the biggest drawback of smart fabrics? In other words, passive fabrics do not change when environmental conditions change. For example, a cooling fabric regulates your temperature but does not actively provide a cooling effect.
Such fabrics can be used to accelerate heat transfer from the body surface. This is also true for clothing and other products using nanotechnology for UV protection, antibacterial, conductive, or anti-static features. Here are some companies producing passive smart fabrics:
- Cosmo: Recognized as a leader in smart fabrics for manufacturing specialty shoes. Uses Microban technology to add antibacterial features that reduce odors.
- Sunbrella: Produces fabrics dyed with UV-stabilized pigments to help maintain color and durability against harsh sunlight.
- Herculite: Produces highly durable fabrics for military, healthcare, and marine applications using unique technology.
Active Smart Fabrics
Active smart fabrics adapt and change their characteristics in response to external environmental changes or user needs. They can change shape, store and regulate heat, and connect to a wide range of flexible applications. So, what is the primary use of smart fabrics?
Passive fabrics mostly rely on their structure for function, while active fabrics usually use electricity and can support actuators and sensors. These electronic components enable smart fabrics to sense touch and temperature, and analyze multiple external environmental data points, and they are a crucial part of smart fabric production. Some examples are:
- Lumia Electronic Layer: A flexible electronic circuit that can support next-gen products in wearable clothing, automotive exterior surfaces, and more.
- Hikyu Smart Temp: A smart fabric with temperature regulation technology activated by body heat, cooling the user accordingly.
- Ganterm: Produces various technologies for different purposes. Its ClimateSense technology uses an algorithm to modify temperature inside a car or medical wearable according to unique user preferences.
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Key Application Areas
Smart fabrics have different key applications, which is a main reason for their increasing popularity. Here are some:
Passive
The most common passive smart fabrics are used in outdoor apparel and medical wearable devices. We’ve provided an example of a cooling fabric, but these fabrics have various other uses:
- UV Protection: Passive agents like optical processors and UV absorbers added to fibers help protect the wearer well. When used with similar materials, they are highly effective against skin damage.
- Antibacterial: Composite antibacterial coatings are popular in sportswear, preventing bacterial growth from sweat.
Active
Active smart fabrics possess a broader range of capabilities and features that passive fabrics lack. As stated earlier, active fabrics adapt to and change according to the external environment. Some applications include:
Temperature Regulation
Wearable devices that regulate body temperature are popular. Smart fabrics help significantly here. Clothing made from such fabrics can automatically control your body heat. What do you think is the relation between automotive industry and smart fabrics?
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Detection and Seat Heating
The automotive industry is perhaps the largest industry related to active smart fabrics. The ability to detect the driver via pressure sensors based on size and weight is a crucial smart fabric application here. Another important use is seat heating. Yes, that amazing device that warms your car seat is a type of smart fabric!
Weaving Science
To produce smart fabrics, researchers use digital weaving machines that weave layers with rows of standard and functional yarns. These multilayered fabrics consist of two layers of conductive yarn and two layers of piezoresistive yarn whose resistance changes under pressure. The machine follows specific instructions to weave these functional yarns throughout the fabric in horizontal and vertical rows. When functional fibers meet, special pressure sensors are embedded in the fabric.
Contrary to popular belief, smart fabrics are fully flexible and wearing them does not cause any special difficulties—provided high-quality fabrics are used. Using poor-quality smart fabrics not only has no practical benefit but may also cause health problems.
Smart fabrics can be programmed to monitor biometrics (measuring physical features or behaviors such as heart rate), which can aid athletes, coaches, and doctors monitoring patients’ vital signs. The practical applications in healthcare are limitless.
Smart fabrics can be utilized in countless ways across many fields, even before considering their applications in design and fashion.
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Smart Fabric Prices
You might ask, what impacts the price of smart fabrics? Smart fabrics are entirely new technology. Like all new things, they impose high costs on manufacturers, which results in high prices. Often, these high prices are not economically justifiable for both producers and consumers.
But this doesn’t mean they are unsuitable. If production costs can be lowered, the related products will be cheaper, boosting sales, reducing overall costs, and benefiting manufacturers.
It’s no surprise that many top companies in clothing production and textile manufacturing are working to reduce production costs. Using advanced machinery in factories and automation with robots during production are good options. We must wait and see how prices of smart fabrics will decrease reasonably in coming years.
Smart Fabrics in the Fashion Industry
Many users ask what role fashion plays in the smart fabric industry. Generally, although smart fabrics were first developed for medical and technological reasons, with time and rising popularity, fashion designers began to adopt them. Today, these fabrics are used in top designer boutiques and for making special garments.
The main application of smart fabrics in fashion is the color-changing ability under different conditions. These fabrics can change color entirely at the user’s command and adopt various patterns, freeing users from buying different colored fabrics.
Smart fabrics are a new trend in fashion, and their future is not yet certain. Naturally, if more designers adopt them, the number of purchasers will increase.
Thus, to answer the question about the relationship between fashion and smart fabrics: these fabrics, though recently introduced into the fashion world, have quickly gained many fans and their applications will continue to expand.
Companies like Nike and Adidas are designing specific production trends to incorporate these fabrics into daily clothing. We will see how these brands change fashion forever with the help of smart fabrics.
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Closing Remarks
In this text, we reviewed smart fabrics and understood what they really are. These fabrics, with their diverse applications in medical and sports fields, can be the future of textiles. Various research is ongoing, and if successful, these extraordinary products will bring very positive results.
Leading clothing manufacturers are striving to expand the applications of smart fabrics. As mentioned, these fabrics are even being used in the automotive industry, which itself is a huge sector.
With the facilitation of manufacturing processes, it is likely that smart fabrics will increasingly enter our daily lives, even being used in everyday clothing.