More on E-textiles: Electronic Smart Fabric

Little Hamster writes "The IEEE spectrum has an article on e-textile, where conductive fibers woven into fabric using standard textile techniques carry power to sensors, actuators and microcontrollers embedded in the cloth. The result is snowmobilers jacket that can detect crashes and txt an SMS message for help, carpet that can detect motion, or a T-shirt that shows videos. Oh, and the smart fabric is washable too."

Comments

It's a start

[(54)T-Dub]

This is the kind of thing we need for Invisiblity Cloaks, chameleon camouflage and Invisible Cars. Of course we still need a revolution in computing to handle the optic information but it's a start.

Landwarrior

[BWJones]

The Army has also been a big backer of this sort of technology for their Land Warrior program. They want the ability to dynamically update their cammo for a variety of conditions from light to dark, from desert to urban to forest.

Impractical

[AKAImBatman]

The biggest problem with ideas like this is that they sound so great in theory and work so poorly in reality. The CyberJack fans (Neuromancer (sp?), Tek War, etc.) would have you believe that in the future everyone will want technology integrated into their bodies. Yet look at the most popular Sci-Fi such as Star Wars and Star Trek. Note the general lack of bodily implants and the revulsion such ideas produce. Sure, use the technology to make a blind man see or change one's appearance for spy work, but as a standard procedure? Nobody wants it! They simply want their technology like a protective cocoon. The very idea of mutilating one's self in the name of "progress" is seen as evil. (Case and point: The Borg)

Electronic wearables are an exciting field with tremendous possibilities (such as clothing that stays a constant temperature) but don't expect people to be too excited about anything more than passive systems.