In Kilkenny this week? You might encounter some revolutionary 'smart' clothing, reports Claire O'Connell
Fancy being a smarty-pants in the gym? You would be the talk of the treadmills if your T-shirt could change thickness, to keep you cool, or if your sports bra could automatically steel itself for an intense bout of bopping around.
Well, hold tight, because scientists around the world are developing "intelligent" textiles that respond to changes in movement, temperature and other bodily functions. Your sportswear could soon be giving you feedback on your workout and even changing its properties to suit your body's needs.
"In the next five years you'll see a lot of things coming out," says Prof Dermot Diamond, who directs the Adaptive Information Cluster (AIC), based at Dublin City University (DCU). Things are already starting to happen. An Italian group Diamond works with has made a prototype "smart" shirt that automatically rolls up its sleeves if the wearer needs to cool down. Australian Rules footballers are using electronic knee sleeves to perfect the art of landing safely. And Adidas has made a running shoe that alters its cushioning to suit the terrain.
So how does the magic work? One way to make a fabric clever is to coat it with a polymer that conducts electricity, explains the AIC's Dr Rod Shepherd. When the material is stretched its fibres align, meaning electricity can zap through it more quickly.
I'm handed a small sensor, about the size of a €2 coin, that can be inserted into clothing. It measures a small electric current being passed through the garment and tells whether the fabric is under strain.
The device is a bit clunky and has wires sticking out of it - not the kind of thing you'd like to find yourself leaning back on during a burst of sit-ups. But sensor systems are getting smaller all the time, making them more wearable, and the awkward wires could ultimately be replaced with circuits printed on to the fabric.
"A key thing would be that the feel of the Lycra textile wouldn't be affected by the coating," says Shepherd. After all, there's little point in producing high-tech gear that nobody will wear. This is where Tara Carrigy, a freelance textile designer, comes in. Because of a collaboration between the AIC and the Crafts Council of Ireland, she is working with the DCU scientists for six months, to come up with user-friendly smart yoga products.
She is developing a mat containing pressure sensors that transmit information back to a PC and tell you whether you need to shift a bit to get better alignment. "I felt the yoga mat was a good place to start, because the foundation of yoga really is that you have good contact with the floor," Carrigy says. "We are also working on yogawear that would measure your breathing and how far you are stretching, so you would be able to see how your breath is working with your posture. I thought it was a perfect way of using the technology."
As well as function, looks and comfort, Carrigy is interested in how wearable sensors can link into artistic expression. She has made sensor-equipped armbands for performances of Jacare Jungle, a children's story being performed at Kilkenny Arts Festival on Monday, when Antonia Hart's tale of carved wooden animals coming to life will be acted out through the Brazilian art of capoeira. "It's a mix of everything: martial arts, dancing, music, singing, acrobatics and a little bit of drama," says Danielle Quaresima of Oficina de Capoeira, the Dublin group that is performing the piece.
As the performers move, the sensors will detect stretching in the armbands and link into vivid patterns of light being projected on to the stage. Then, after the half-hour show, children in the audience will be able to test out the armbands for themselves. It's about bringing the magic of sensors to the kids, Carrigy says.
Adults may have to wait longer to see the magic of intelligent textiles in their sportswear, but the possibilities are almost akin to science fiction.
As well as movement, sensors can monitor breathing, heart signatures and temperature. They could even pick up biochemical cues from sweat that tell when your body is too stressed and it's time to stop, which could be useful in a marathon, explains Dr Kim Lau of the AIC.
The ultimate goal is to produce clothing that reacts to change. "We're very interested in the idea of adaptive materials that understand what's happening around them and change and compensate," says Diamond. "You could envisage a material that fluffs up if the temperature on the outside is colder." And the more generously busted among us will be happy to hear that Australian researchers are developing a smart sports bra; when it senses increased bounce, it adjusts straps and cups to provide more support.
Wearable sensors also have other health applications, explains Diamond, such as predicting the onset of an asthma attack or alerting parents if a sleeping baby stops breathing. But he believes consumers will see intelligent clothing products first in sportswear and leisurewear.
And for Carrigy, who has worked in the craft and fashion industry for 20 years, the move into the cutting-edge field of electronic textiles is an obvious one. "Craft is really changing in Ireland, and we are being flooded by cheaper products from all over the world, so the possibility of extending your practice of craft and design into the next generation of textiles is very important," she says. "This is the future."