Saving data in your shirt is the next reality
Science of smartness: Scientists have developed fabrics that can secretly store your data without using any electronics or sensors
Smart fashion accessories with invisible security codes to your office or apartment could soon make keys a thing of the past, say scientists, including one of Indian origin, who have developed fabrics that can secretly store data without any electronics or sensors.
Most people today combine conductive thread – embroidery thread that can carry an electrical current – with other types of electronics to create outfits, stuffed animals or accessories that light up or communicate.
However, scientists realised that this off-the-shelf conductive thread also has magnetic properties that can be manipulated to store either digital data or visual information like letters or numbers. This data can be read by a magnetometer, an inexpensive instrument that measures the direction and strength of magnetic fields and is embedded in most smartphones.
“This is a completely electronic-free design, which means you can iron the smart fabric or put it in the washer and dryer,” said Shyam Gollakota, associate professor at the University of Washington in the US. “We are using something that already exists on a smartphone and uses almost no power, so the cost of reading this type of data is negligible,” said Gollakota.
In one example, they stored the passcode to an electronic door lock on a patch of conductive fabric sewn to a shirt cuff. They unlocked the door by waving the cuff in front of an array of magnetometers. Researchers also created fashion accessories like a tie, belt, necklace and wristband and decoded the data by swiping a smartphone across them.
This is in contrast to many smart garments today that still require on-board electronics or sensors to work. That can be problematic if you get caught in the rain or forget to detach those electronics before throwing them in the washing machine – a potential barrier to widespread adoption of other wearable technology designs.
“This is a completely electronic-free design, which means you can iron the smart fabric or put it in the washer and dryer,” said Shyam Gollakota, associate professor at the University of Washington in the US.