The new smart device works from light and electricity developed by researchers at the University of Waterloo, making it the first to respond to two different stimuli.
The unique design opens up a variety of accessories, including warm clothes to walk from the car to the office in the cold, and car bumpers that spring back to their original shape after a collision.
Made with nanocomposite polymer fibers made from recycled plastic, the programmable fabric can change color and shape when a stimulus is applied.
“As a tool itself, there is almost endless potential in AI, robotics and gaming and experience,” said Dr Milad Kamkar, a professor of chemical engineering at Waterloo. “Imagine feeling a temperature or a physical stimulus that triggers a deep mystery in a virtual world.”
The new textile material is the product of a happy combination of soft and hard materials, and a combination of high-tech polymer composites and stainless steel in a woven form.
The researchers developed a device similar to traditional clothing to weave beautiful fabrics. The resulting process is very innovative, allowing design freedom and greater control of the fabric material.
The fabric can also be made to work with less electricity than previous methods, making it more powerful and cost-effective. In addition, the low voltage allows integration into small portable devices, making it suitable for use in biomedical devices and environmental sensors.
Kamkar, director of the Center for Multi-Scale Materials Design (MMD) in Waterloo, said, The idea for these intelligent materials was first created and studied through the science of biomimicry.
With the ability to understand and respond to environmental stimuli such as temperature, it is a proof of concept that our innovation can interact with the environment to explore the environment without harming them.”
The next step for researchers is to improve the performance of physical memory for applications in the field of robotics. The goal is to build a robot that can pick up and carry loads efficiently to get the job done.
The results are published in the journal Small.
Source: University of Waterloo
