How will the future of clothes? All of metamaterials and smart clothes

You will be surprised, but bracelets, watches and smartphones, tracking steps per day - is only a small part of what awaits us in the future. Only a fleeting glance at the industry of smart clothes and metamaterial makes the hair stand on end in anticipation of what will soon be available to each of us.

Imagine that after 10 years, your shirt, bra or socks will be more intelligent than today's smartphones and smartwatch. Impressive? Yes. At the same time it becomes a little scary.

metamaterials

Metamaterials - are materials that are created artificially and do not occur naturally. Their name is due to the fact that they possess special properties that are not present in normal tissues.

In most metamaterials have unusual acoustic, electromagnetic or optical properties. Remember the cloak of "Harry Potter"? If such a cloak appears, it will consist of metamaterials. Moreover, the attempt to create clothing that makes its owner invisible, taken for a long time, and humanity has reached even this some success.

For example, a researcher Andrea de Falco could create metafleks - material that is due to the refraction of light makes it possible to make an object wrapped in it, imperceptible and almost invisible. But we are more interested in the use of metamaterials in the sport, because this is where our body is working at the limit, and it is important to get the most out of status information.

Columbia company technology called Omni-Heat, in particular Omni-Heat Thermal Reflective, Ensures that the metamaterial - a garment future. Concept Omni-Heat is special material with the addition of aluminum. He does not give to go to the heat that is released the body and brings it back to the owner.

Surprisingly, this technology really works. I have a jacket and thermal underwear with Omni-Heat, and the fact that my jacket weighs five times less down jackets, and warm as well, if not better, still surprises me. But technology developed Columbia, - this is only the beginning.

Intelligent clothing

If the metamaterials will be available to ordinary people it is not soon, smart clothes immediately available. For instance, apparel from Adidas miCoach series. It includes various wardrobe items, from shirts and ending with a bra. They built Cardiosensor that reads your heart rate and then synchronized with the one of the gadgets to keep statistics.

Clothing is comprised almost entirely of polyester, and it is used several unusual technologies. The most interesting of them - Techfit. But the company Adidas calls it TECHFIT! It allows you to make a person at 5% stronger. How? With the help of the laws of physics. Due to the hard material is achieved by a stronger compression and tension members operate on the principle of the spring and help you perform the movement. That is, if you lower the bar to your chest, squeezing it will not only you but also your shirt.

And the second Adidas technology that is used now - it Climacool. It facilitates the circulation of air and removal of perspiration. Due to "breathing" materials sweat absorbed in clothing, and then displayed on the surface of the tissue to vaporize. The company is introducing the technology in those clothing items that come into contact with the sweaty areas of the body, that is, T-shirts, sneakers, T-shirts.

The pinnacle of the industry can be called smart clothes presented at CES 2015 smart t-shirt from Hexoskin. They are equipped with a special sensor that reads the heart rate, activity level, sleep efficiency, respiratory rate, movement speed, and of course, the number of calories burned.

While this is all that we can buy, and feel now. What awaits us next? I can only assume. For example, the interactive elements on clothes to enable to enable or disable any function. Or a special fiber, which keeps track of breaks in clothes and on their basis can provide information about body injuries. About the weather sensors, humidity and pressure can not even talk.

Intelligent clothing - this is our future. We are looking for ways to extend their life, not thinking about the fact that the main instrument for this may be our clothing.