Smart Clothing Could Be Surprisingly High Tech

Most people have come in contact with moisture-absorbing fabric designed to absorb sweat and keep you cool. But, now scientists from the University of Maryland have taken it one step further by designing a smart textile that can automatically warm or cool you based on the temperature outside, according to Scientific American.

University of Maryland researchers, YuHuang Wang and Ouyang Min developed a fabric from infrared-sensitive yarn that reacts to temperature and humidity. Wang told the Royal Society of Chemistry’s publication, Chemistry World, that he was inspired to make this technology after pondering how temperature-sensitive clothing “could be a solution to save energy in buildings.” He said, “It was an ‘aha’ moment. I was looking at the blinds in my office window and it occurred to me that we need a switch for our clothes.”

So, how does it work? When the fabric detects sweat, the nanotubes in the fabric activate and bring the carbon strands in the fabric come closer together to make it more breathable. If the wearer feels too cold or dry, the strands will do the opposite and expand to get more heat (via Scientific American).