Australian scientists have developed a smart textile from carbon nanotube and spandex fibers that can both sense and move in response to a stimulus such as a muscle or a joint.Dr. Javad Foroughi, of the Australian Research Council, is currently working on using the smart textile as a wearable antenna. Image credit: ARC Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science.

“We have already made intelligent materials as sensors and integrated them into devices, such as a knee sleeve, that can be used to monitor the movement of the joint—providing valuable data that can be used to create a personalized training or rehabilitation program for the wearer,” says lead researcher Dr. Javad Foroughi, of the Australian Research Council's Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science. “Our recent work allowed us to develop smart clothing that simultaneously monitors the wearer’s movements, senses strain and adjusts the garment to support or correct the movement."

The smart textile, which the researchers say is easily scalable for the fabrication of industrial quantities, generates a mechanical work capacity and a power output that is higher than that produced by human muscles. As a result, it has many potential applications, ranging from robotics to sensors for lab-on-a-chip devices.

Having already created the knee-sleeve prototype, the team is currently working on using the smart textile as a wearable antenna, as well as in biomedical applications.

“Materials that can provide both sensing and response capabilities are the Holy Grail of intelligent materials research. This fundamental discovery will find widespread application,” Foroughi says.