Photo credit: MIT
MIT researchers unveil FibeRobo, a shape-shifting, morphable fabric that contracts in response to an increase in temperature, then self-reverses when the temperature decreases. There are no embedded sensors or other hard components required.
In a real world application, FibeRobo could be used in outerwear like a jacket that would dynamically change shape so it becomes more insulating to keep you warm when temperatures drop. Companies could also combine the fiber with conductive thread, which acts as a heating element when electric current runs through it. This allows the fabric to change shape depending on digital information like a heart rate sensor.
- KEEP YOUR GOALS ON TRACK: Workout to your full potential with fitness tracking* on Galaxy Watch6; Get insights on duration, distance, calories burned...
- FIND YOUR ZONE: Zone in on the results you want with personalized heart rate zones**; Watch scans your health data to provide HR zones tailored just...
- SLEEP COACH ON YOUR WRIST: Get the insights to develop better sleep habits with Advanced Sleep Coaching*; Use Watch to plan your bedtime, detect...
We use textiles for everything. We make planes with fiber-reinforced composites, we cover the International Space Station with a radiation-shielding fabric, we use them for personal expression and performance wear. So much of our environment is adaptive and responsive, but the one thing that needs to be the most adaptive and responsive — textiles — is completely inert,” said
Jack Forman, a graduate student in the Tangible Media Group and the Center for Bits and Atoms in the MIT Media Lab.
