SeamSleeve (smart clothing fabric)

2024: Product Announcement

In early July 2024, scientists from the University of Bristol and the University of Bath unveiled a smart clothing fabric called SeamSleeve.

As well as allowing garments to be decorated as an act of self-expression, the new technology can capture and record body movements. New functions are provided by conductive threads sewn into the seams of clothing and creating electrical circuits, the resistance of which varies depending on the movements of the user. In this case, smart clothes do not require a separate power source, since the seam with conductive threads is connected to a charging coil that receives energy wirelessly from the user's mobile phone. All information received is also transmitted to the phone, and artificial intelligence-based programs analyze this data, interpreting certain gestures or poses.

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The ultimate goal of the researchers was to develop an improved version of digital clothing that accurately recognizes and records body movements. Scientists believe that this data can be used in the field of health care and rehabilitation, for the development of new consumer electronics and sports training. Obtaining accurate data on the movement of the human body can also provide more effective monitoring and analysis of physical activity, which could potentially be used to improve the health and fitness of users.

The research was presented at the Designing Interactive Systems (DIS) conference in Copenhagen and "should lay the groundwork for electronic fabric designers and smart clothing manufacturers with the potential to change our ideas about exercise, physical therapy and rehabilitation." Scientists also note that new technologies with motion sensors can be reproduced without significantly changing existing clothing production processes.^[1]

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