Researchers at the University of Minnesota have developed a temperature-responsive textile that can be used for self-fitting garments. Shape memory alloys (SMAs) enable the textiles to change shape when activated by body heat.

The study comes out of the university’s Design of Active Materials and Structures Lab (DAMSL) and Wearable Technology Lab (WTL) and is led by graduate students Kevin Eschen and Rachael Granberry and professors Julianna Abel and Brad Holschuh. 

"This is an important step forward in the creation of robotic textiles for on-body applications,” said Mr Holschuh. “It’s particularly exciting because it solves two significant problems simultaneously: how to create usable actuation, or movement, without requiring significant power or heat, and how to conform a textile or garment to regions of the body that are irregularly shaped.” 

Researchers, in partnership with NASA, studied the dimensions of a human leg, then designed, manufactured and tested an SMA-based knitted garment that precisely conforms to a leg’s topography.

Potential use for this technology includes compression garments that are initially loose fitting and easy to put on, but then shrink to a tight fit. 


Image: University of Minnesota