Electronic textiles, such as heating pads and electric blankets, can keep the user hot and help relieve pain and pain. However, prolonged use of these devices could cause heat -related diseases, including hyperthermia or burns. Recently, a group of researchers designed and tested a “intelligent” jacket equipped with environmental sensors, heat generation threads and color change, and artificial intelligence (AI) to control the temperature and avoid overheating. Its results are published in ACS materials and interfaces applied.
Some electronic textiles, or electronic textiles have sensors that can monitor the heart rate of the user, blood pressure and movement, or can connect through Bluetooth to mobile applications that control the temperature. However, even with technological advances, users can still be injured by these products. Older people are especially prone to heat -related injuries due to the decrease in heat sensitivity, and residents of nursing homes and assisted life communities are vulnerable because their temperatures cannot always be monitored in an easy or frequent by medical care providers. Jeanne Tan and collaborators believed that they could improve the safety of textiles and through the combination of IA -driven systems with thermochromic thread to create a fabric that heats the user without overheating and provides immediate temperature readings for easy monitoring.
The researchers created an intelligent heating jacket from their new textile and that contains heat generation thread, silver -coated thread and two types of thermochromic thread. The thread coated with silver heats the garment with less volume and more flexibility than the carbon fiber traditionally used. The temperature control system based on the incorporated in the jacket was trained in 50 subjects with a variety of ages, genres and body types that identified their ideal heat configuration in environments with different temperatures, humidities and wind speeds. The threads that change color added a safety feature to the jacket, with a thread that transition from purple to pink to indicate a heating temperature above 86 degrees Fahrenheit (30 degrees Celsius) to allow easy temperature monitoring for temperature The day. In dark environments, the other thread of polymeric fiber emitted a blue, yellow or red brightness to indicate temperatures of 86 F (30 c), 104 F (40 c) and 122 F (50 c), respectively.
In a demonstration, the thermochromic and optical fiber threads in the jacket indicated precisely the heating temperature, and the component of the jacket predicted a comfortable temperature and provided a constant heating for the user, even when the environment changed. In the future, the equipment says that its e-the e-textile technology could be used in several applications, from heated cars and car furniture to space suits.
The authors recognize the funds of the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory in Design under Innohk research clusters, special administrative region of Hong Kong.