Shirts that turn your body into an interactive controller, 3D printed biomaterials that degrade on-demand, and IBM Watson tracks the U.S. Open. Welcome to September, this is your Engineering360 news brief.

Wearable Shirt Aims to Transform Your Body into a Controller

In the near future, connected clothing will be a natural way for people to interact with the internet, other people, and their surroundings. Now we’re one step closer. Xenoma Inc., a spin-off company from the University of Tokyo, has developed circuit fabric, an array of sensors and electronics integrated into traditional textile materials. The company’s e-skin is a wearable interface that allows for camera-free motion capture and tracking in the form of apparel. E-Skin apparel can also be used as in input controller for gaming and VR, fitness applications and healthcare.

3D Printed Biomaterials Break Down On Demand

Brown University engineers have demonstrated 3D-printed biomaterials that can degrade on demand. The skill can prove useful in making intricate patterns in microfluidic devices or cell cultures than can change during experiments. The team created the structures using a type of 3D printing called stereolithography and intends to think about using it in artificial tissues where you’d want running channels that mimic blood vessels. Their experiments can be useful in investigating wound-healing processes or the migration of cancer cells.

IBM Watson Made it to the U.S. Open

According to IBM, “The US Open is packed with so much action across so many courts that even the fastest video team is challenged to keep pace with what’s happening,” so the company decided to hire Watson to look at massive amounts of video footage and dissect the information in each frame to select the tournament’s most exciting moments to ensure that video editors and fans would never have to miss a beat. Each day, the USTA posted a Highlight of the Day, as ranked by Watson, on its Facebook page. On the player bio page, video highlights were available across all of the USTA’s digital platforms and attendees were able to check out the hand-selected moments on-site in the player’s lounge and in the fan-facing IBM Watson Experience on the plaza.

Now remember to check out Engineering360 and Electronics360 for more news and information like this, plus engineering reference guides, product spec sheets and videos of interest!