Scientists unveil futuristic green fabric that works like a smartphone… to wear!

An invention that promises amazing applications in different fields: it is a green techno-fabric that works like a smartphone

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It is an invention that promises astonishing applications in many fields - from communication, to personal safety, to health. It is a green techno-fabric that works like a smartphone. The innovation comes from a Chinese university.

Wearable technology has been promised for years, but creating large displays with actual operating systems within them has always been considered an impossible challenge. A challenge that the researchers at Fudan University in Shanghai have won brilliantly thanks to a fabric-screen almost 6 meters wide and 25 centimeters long, which can be enriched with a touch-sensitive fabric keyboard and a solar-powered battery.

“It is a flexible, breathable and durable fabric - made for everyday life,” says Professor Huisheng Peng, who with his team oversaw the realization of the project. "Traditional solid screens are not compatible with fabrics because they have difficulty resisting the natural deformation that clothes undergo when worn or washed."

The new fabric combines cotton with very thin luminescent fibers (less than half a millimeter in diameter) and survives 1.000 cycles of folding, pressing, pulling. The shine lasts even after 100 washing and drying cycles.

How the innovative techno-fabric works (Credits: Fudan University)

The applications of this new technology are numerous. The garment could improve the safety of cyclists and motorcyclists - for example by activating, with a simple touch, a “textile map” directly on the jacket sleeve. Cops or road workers might wear these fabrics to be more visible at night and, consequently, safer.

Or help mute people or people with expressive difficulties to communicate with others. “We hope these materials will shape the next generations of electronic devices by changing the way we approach them,” says Peng.  

The invention could be on the market as early as next Christmas, according to the SWNS agency.

Fonte: Fudan University / Nature

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