The Ohio State University research team has made a milestone in the development of wearable electronic devices: they used polymer wires with a diameter of only 0.1 mm and an outer layer of silver as the “embroidery thread” to successfully splicing the circuit into the fabric. The ability to integrate electronic components such as sensors and computer memory into clothing perfectly means that smart clothing that can send and receive digital information is a step closer to reality.

The research team published a paper in the latest issue of the IEEE Journal of Antennas and Wireless Transmission, which stated that they created a typical desktop sewing machine in the laboratory, which automatically woven this "thread" based on the loading mode through computer files. Into the fabric. The texture of the “embroidery thread” is the same as that of the traditional yarn, and its pattern determines the operating frequency of the antenna or circuit. For example, for a wide-band antenna, the "stitch" can be woven into several interlocking geometric figures, forming an intricate circle whose different components transmit energy at different frequencies, and they can cover one when working together. Extensive spectral energy. In this way, the antenna has the ability to "broadband" for mobile phones and the Internet. It is reported that if a few inches of broadband antenna is woven, the material cost is about 30 cents and it takes only 15 minutes.

The research team said that this is also a revolutionary technology in the textile industry. It is believed that functional textiles will replace technical products such as communication and sensing, and even one day, they can be applied to medicine, such as imaging and health monitoring. Using this technology, in the future, it is possible to produce shirts with embedded smartphones or tablets, sportswear that monitors fitness levels, sports equipment that monitors athlete performance, bandages that tell doctors about subcutaneous tissue, or soft braided hats that sense brain activity. Even in the treatment of patients with epilepsy, it is not necessary to connect the patient's body to the line to understand the brain activity.

The researchers also said that shape-determining functions, they want to develop a technology that can weave fabrics of different shapes to suit different applications.