New Smart Fabric May Give 'Air Conditioner' to the Wearer

Imagine air conditioning in your own clothes. Scientists have created a new method for wearable technology and cosmetic applications that may allow you to adjust the temperature of your clothes in the future.

In this case, the researchers developed a new high-volume production method for hot embossing microscopic channel structure onto large areas of plastic film at a low cost for use. In fact, the researchers are planning on engineering a small fabric adjustable with a mobile app for controlling the wearer's temperature.

With the new high-volume method, microchannels can be produced on large areas of plastic film in a short time. Pumping cold or hot liquid through a network of microchannels enables the temperature control of functional clothes.

The utilization of microscopic channels for other that diagnostic purposes has been limited by relatively high production costs and the small size of the networks of microchannels before now.

"Miniscule microfluidic channels can be compared to the cardiovascular system, for example," said Ralph Liedert, one of the researchers, in a news release. "This gave us the idea for other applications of our new method in addition to diagnostics, such as heating or cooling channels for clothing, or the storage and transport of substances that are only needed in small volumes (perfumes and fragrances) or that are very expensive (medicine)."

The channels can be embedded either into hard or soft plastics. In this case, the researchers are currently developing a smart fabric which can be used as "personalized air conditioning" in outdoor clothing. With that said, it will be quite some time before this material is fully developed.

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