Smart materials clothes

One example of such smart textile applications is in health monitoring [50]. Placement of electrically conducting fibres in smart material clothing can be... 

Providing education to the user about clothing systems and how to use them in changing environments will offer much more benefit than the current functionality of smart materials. Technology and user input working together will provide a much more versatile product. Polychromelab s reversible jacket, which requires users to respond their comfort levels, offers such a combination. 

Both smart materials and structures can be used to achieve physiological comfort of protective clothing. In this chapter, three groups of typical examples of incorporating smart textile technologies into protective clothing to achieve clothing comfort are discussed. 

The issue with this type of superimposed layer strategy is that it creates a bulky and heavy protective clothing system, with a negative impact of comfort, ergonomics, and function. The same problem stands with other types of PPE, for example, helmets, boots, etc. On the other hand, if the PPE material or layer can combine several functions and protect against the whole list of hazards associated with a type of activity, for example, through the use of smart materials, gains in comfort and efficiency can be made (Peltonen et al., 2012). 

The potential applications are several and e-textile technologies have a direct link with human body monitoring. Clothes are our own personal house (Van Langenhove, 2007) and there are no other devices continuously in contact with the human body like garments. hi this way, the combination of smart materials, wearable electronics, and sensors with fabrics opens the doors to many apphcations, especially in the clinical monitoring field. Textiles and clothes can be produced on fast and productive machinery at a reasonable cost, and the health and beauty industry is also taking advantage of these innovations. 

Other materials have been found that have shape memories. Shape-memory polymers are plastics that have properties similar to SMAs. Pliable materials have recently been found that can be stretched up to twice their normal length, yet regain their shape when heated. Having a smart plastic material opens up applications of a softer, more flexible nature, such as clothing. 

Advances in polymer and fibre science and in the manufacturing technologies of fibres, yarns and fabrics have been the driving force behind the development of smart textiles and innovative products that fulfil customer expectations. In contrast with the situation that existed 20years ago, these products now find applications primarily in sectors outside the textile field. Therefore, fibre, yam and clothing producers are in constant pursuit of developing new materials in order to meet the demands for both traditional and technical textiles to be used for applications outside the textile industry. 

Hirai T., Zheng J., Watanabe M., Electrically active polymer materials - application of non-ionic polymer gel and elastomers for artificial muscles in Tao X. (ed.) Smart Fibres, Fabrics and Clothing, Woodhead Publishing, Cambridge. 2001. 

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