What’s the opportunity for Northeast Ohio in smart fabrics and intelligent textiles (SFIT)?
Researchers in smart fabrics and intelligent textiles (SFIT) are working with the fashion industry to bring us color-changing or perfume-emitting jeans, wristwatches that work as digital wallets, and running shoes like the Nike +iPod that watch where you’re going (possibly allowing others to do the same). Powering these gizmos remains a key obstacle.
But industry watchers estimate that a $400 million market for SFIT is already in place and predict that smart fabrics could revitalize the U.S. and European textile industry.
Technology embraces fashion in ‘Hug shirt’
A special category of SFIT is the Intelligent Biomedical Clothing (IBC). Future developments of intelligent biomedical clothing will be based on the full integration of sensors/actuators, energy sources, processing and communication within the clothes.
