Textile manufacturing may be one of the oldest technologies known to humans, but adapting the advances of the information age to our clothing is certainly not easy. Of course, there are efforts to bring clothes into the modern age, such as Google’s Jacquard Project, but we cannot say that they are generally successful.
But that doesn’t stop a research team from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Sweden. MIT researchers have developed a smart fiber that can detect and respond to the wearer’s movement. Called OmniFiber, the soft robotic fabric has a hollow center channel that allows a fluid medium to flow through it. With the help of compressed air, the fibers can be bent, stretched, curled and blown at will. These abilities can be described as a feature that allows them to provide tactile feedback in real time, making them like an artificial muscle.
Of course, artificial muscle fibers are not a new idea, and other research teams at MIT have approached the technology in their own way. But what makes OmniFiber remarkable is that it doesn’t need heat to change its shape. We can say that it is more practical because overheating of the skin does not cause a problem. In addition, this fabric has other advantages. It is possible to manufacture the fabric with relatively inexpensive materials and does not require a delicate weaving process.
The team envisions their fabric turning into clothing that could help teach athletes and singers how to better control their breathing. Another even more exciting application could be that the OmniFiber suit can help someone restore their natural breathing pattern after a respiratory illness like COVID-19.
It may take some time before we see OmniFiber go mainstream. Özgün Kılıç Afşar, one of the researchers working on the fabric, told MIT News that he plans to continue working on this system. Among the things he wants to do is develop a production system that allows even longer filaments to be created.
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