Weaving Dreams:

At its most basic, the role of clothing is to protect us from the elements. However, with textile technology in constant development, clothes that wick away moisture from the skin, retain warmth, fight bacteria, shrug off water droplets, block ultraviolet light, and even conduct electricity and emit light are no longer pure fantasy. So as the possibilities become ever broader, how far can we imagine taking clothing?

Clothes + tech = wearable computing

One answer may be turning clothes into wearable computers.

Already we have combined mobile telephones with computers and made smartphones a regular part of modern life, so what about combining textiles and computers to create “smart textiles”? “The idea behind smart textiles is to turn clothes into wearable com­puters through modular design,” explains Shen Chien-lung, deputy director of the Department of Products at the Taiwan Textile Research Institute (TTRI).

To take this vision from fantasy to reality, around the turn of the millennium developed nations worldwide began to promote smart textiles as a matter of national strategy, investing heavily in R&D through initiatives like Advanced Functional Fabrics of America (AFFOA), which saw investment from the US military, and the EU’s European Technology Platform for the Future of Textiles and Clothing (Textile ETP). As a textile industry leader, Taiwan has also been part of this effort, with the TTRI spearheading efforts to encourage domestic enterprises to develop smart textiles through special programs since 2003.

Although fully mature high-end smart clothing like we see in the movies is still far off, as key technologies and processes mature and the development of mater­ials with broader applications continues, the market for smart textiles is booming. According to a forecast by market researchers Grand View Research, global production of smart textiles will be worth as much as US$5.5 billion by 2025. While defense and military applications account for the largest share of this, the areas of sports and fitness are showing the most robust annual growth. With so much potential in the sector, several leading tech and apparel companies, including Apple, Google, Nike, and Under Armour, are coming in firing on all cylinders.

Movies have long predicted the smart textiles of the future. In an effort to make these predictions real, in 2003 Taiwan took the lead in the development of smart textiles with the TTRI.

Shen Chien-lung has devoted himself to research on smart textiles for more than 20 years, regarding textiles as a means to transform imagination into reality.

Creating a national team

Taiwan has long been proud of its textile industry, which has earned it a reputation as something of a “textile Silicon Valley.” On top of this, Taiwan is a leader in the fields of electronics and of information and communications technologies. As a result, the nation is well situated in several important areas for smart textiles. However, if these sectors are to forge a formidable alliance, there remain several key issues that need to be addressed.

Among these is the question of how to integrate electronic components into clothing in such a way that they remain stable and reliable when worn. Consumers may wonder how long the clothing may be guaranteed, how many times it can be washed, and how long it will remain usable. Any piece of smart clothing that can’t last beyond 100 washes, for example, simply does not pass the basic threshold for viable commercial mass production.

And if such products are to go from basic clothing to any kind of medical equipment, beyond the washability question they’ll also face the need for medical device certification with testing in areas like biocompatibility, electrical safety, and telecommunications security to ensure their safety and reliability.

To bolster cross-domain coordination and com­munica­tion, in 2018, 34 leading textile and electronics companies and organizations in Taiwan, including Texray, Makalot, and Formosa Taffeta on the textiles side and Ampak Technology and the Taiwan Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers’ Association on the electronics side, came together to form the Taiwan Smart Textile Association (TSTA). The “Team Taiwan” of smart clothes, their products are often sold under their collective name. “Our goal is to become the Oxford Street of smart clothing—if you want smart clothing, you come to Taiwan,” says Shen Chien-lung, current chief secretary of the TSTA.

Wearable devices developed by the TTRI, combining traditional textiles with high-tech electronic devices, have potential uses in a wide range of fields, from medicine and fitness to gaming.

Smart clothing for remote rehab

Although Batman’s and Spider-Man’s outfits in the movies may be fancy and eye-catching, in reality smart clothing is not about that kind of flashiness. Chiang Shang-lin, director of the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Tri-Service General Hospital, has been working with the TTRI since 2018 on the use of smart clothing in clinical medicine. Chiang, a bronze National Healthcare Quality Award winner, shows us a wearable heart rate sensor garment for patients. Except for a short, thin transmitter on the chest, it looks virtually indistinguishable from ordinary clothing.

The predecessor of this is the heart rate strap, developed some 20 or 30 years ago. These straps use conductive rubber and are strapped around the chest, calculating heart rate using the millivolt potential changes on the skin surface when the heart beats. However, they come loose easily and create a lot of friction, making them difficult to wear for long periods. In this clothing-based version, conductive silver-plated fibers are woven into the fabric, and when worn, the garment can capture physiological data such as heart rate and exercise intensity, making it significantly more comfortable and practical.

Over the past four years, Chiang has provided this garment to more than 100 cardiopulmonary re­hab­ilita­tion patients. In the traditional medical model, patients must regularly report to the hospital, have electrocardiogram leads attached while exercising, and be guided by a therapist. This puts a considerable burden on patients in terms of time, transportation, and cost. “Statistics show that among patients in need of rehab, only some 20% actually come to the hospital. That missing 80% is the niche that can be addressed by smart clothing,” says Chiang.

With smart clothing, doctors only need to prescribe an exercise regime and enter it into the corresponding app. When the patients wear the clothing, they can train by themselves and upload the data to the cloud in real time, giving the medical team immediate access and making the whole process much easier for everyone. In the past, this system was primarily used with patients who had suffered a myocardial infarction or those with heart failure. However, in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, Chiang predicts, with growing numbers of recovered pneumonia ­patients, smart clothing has the potential to significantly reduce labor costs and will undoubtedly play an important role.

Smart textiles could revolutionize medical treatment. A doctor prescribes an exercise regime and enters it into an app, and their cardiopulmonary rehabilitation patient trains at home, using smart clothing to upload data in real time so the medical team can monitor their situation remotely.

Dr. Chiang Shang-lin (left) of Tri-Service General Hospital expects that in the post-pandemic era, smart clothing will play an increasingly important role as a clinical tool.

“Smart” means solving pain points

With 20 years of experience in smart textiles, Shen Chien-lung notes that a different logic underlies R&D work in smart clothing than in traditional textile products. The smart clothing sector is not only focused on developing new products, but also on combining “hardware” (clothes) with “software” (algorithms) and “applications” (medical care). “Only by integrating all three together can you achieve a ‘smart point,’ otherwise no matter how cool you might think the product is, the experience will be brief, and the effects will not last.” The real point of smart clothing lies in addressing particular problems that people experience.

Thus Shen, who says that he “enjoys research,” is not so much an expert across different fields but more like a dreamer who dares to try and make those dreams reality. “We don’t just use fabrics, but apply what we have learned to the fabrics to make new ideas happen.” Talking about the mental journey he has taken, he says, “Once you get involved, you really find it something to be proud of.” Through smart textiles, humanity is beginning to weave the fabric of the future and free its imagination. 

Clothes not only protect us from the elements, but are also becoming vehicles for new technologies. (photo by Chin Hung-hao)

courtesy of TTRI