A group of researchers recently unveiled a “smart” jacket equipped with advanced environmental sensors, heat-generating yarns, color-changing thermochromic yarns, and artificial intelligence (AI) for temperature control. This innovative jacket aims to prevent overheating while keeping the wearer warm. Their findings were published in the American Chemical Society (ACS) journal ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces.
Traditional electronic textiles, such as heating pads and electric blankets, help keep users warm but can pose risks like hyperthermia or burns with prolonged use. Older adults, especially those in nursing homes, are particularly vulnerable to heat-related injuries due to reduced heat sensitivity and limited temperature monitoring.
To address these issues, researchers led by Jeanne Tan developed a safer e-textile by combining AI technology with thermochromic yarn. The jacket, designed for intelligent heating, features silver-coated yarn that provides warmth with greater flexibility and less bulk compared to carbon fiber. The AI-based system was trained using data from 50 individuals of varying ages, genders, and body types, ensuring it could predict and maintain comfortable temperatures across different environmental conditions.
The jacket incorporates two types of color-changing yarns for real-time temperature monitoring. In well-lit environments, the yarn transitions from purple to pink when the heating temperature exceeds 30°C. In darker settings, polymeric optical fiber yarn glows blue, yellow, or red to indicate heating temperatures of 30°C, 40°C, and 50°C, respectively.
During demonstrations, the jacket’s thermochromic and optical yarns accurately displayed heating temperatures, while its AI component maintained consistent warmth even under changing environmental conditions.
The researchers believe this technology could extend beyond clothing to applications like heated car seats, furniture, and even spacesuits. The study was funded by the Laboratory for Artificial Intelligence in Design under InnoHK Research Clusters in Hong Kong.
