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Review
Cho, Lee,
andand
Reappraisal
Cho of Smart Clothing
1. INTRODUCTION
We thank the Korean Ministry of Knowledge Economy for the financial support (project
no. 10016447).
Correspondence should be sent to Gilsoo Cho, Department of Clothing & Textiles, College of
Human Ecology, Yonsei University, 134 Shinchon-Dong, Sudaemun-Gu, Seoul 120-749, South Korea.
E-mail: gscho@yonsei.ac.kr
Review and Reappraisal of Smart Clothing 583
In smart technology for textiles and clothing, the extent of intelligence can be
divided into three subgroups (Tao, 2001): passive smart, active smart, and very smart
materials. Passive smart materials can only sense the environment; active smart
materials can sense the stimuli from the environment and also react to them; and
very smart materials take a step further, having the gift to adapt their behavior to
the circumstances, besides the sensor and actuator function.
A smart clothing system is composed of several basic components: interface,
communication, data management, energy management, and integrated circuits
(Tao, 2005a). An interface is a medium for transacting information between
devices and the wearer as well as between the wearer and environment. Commu-
nication provides a link between various components of smart clothing, transfer-
ring information and power. Data management refers to memory, computation,
584 Cho, Lee, and Cho
and data processing. Energy management relates to energy supply and storage.
Integrated circuits are miniature electronic circuits built on a semiconductor
substrate.
Input and output interfaces are used to transfer information between devices and
the wearer as well as between the wearer and environment.
Input Interface
In smart clothing systems, buttons and keyboards are used as input interfaces
that are relatively simple and easy to learn and implement (Tao, 2005a). For more
complex tasks, input interfaces such as voice recognition are needed. Devices
such as sensors are used to monitor context, which can be, for example, the physi-
ological state of the wearer or the wearers location. Much effort has been made
on developing textile-based interface devices for use in smart clothing.
Switch fabric
Textile-based keypad
switch fabric in which stainless steel yarns are used as warp and filling with
other types of yarn and a metal dome switch is inserted. The switch fabric
works by contact between the conductive warp and filling yarns and the metal
dome switch when compressed.
Biometric information. Textile sensors are used for the recording of electro-
cardiogram (ECG), respiration rate, heart rate, and so on. Conventional sensors
often cause problems because of their physical structure or functional require-
ments. They cause discomfort such as skin irritation either by the adhesive part of
the electrodes or the gel used with conventional ECG electrodes (Catrysse et al.,
2004). As an alternative to conventional sensors, textile sensors are developed to
overcome these inconveniences.
Van Langenhove and Hertleer (2004) reported developments of textile elec-
trodes for ECG and heart rate measurements. The so-called Textrodes are made of
stainless steel fibers and have a knitted structure, making direct and close contact
with the body. They were incorporated into a belt to be worn around the thorax.
It was reported that the textile electrodes provide accurate signals, as compared
with conventional electrodes, despite the presence of additional noise. This
technology can be applied for monitoring of patients in clinical conditions and
healthcare, of sportsmen during intense physical activities, of professional workers
engaged in extreme environmental conditions, and so on.
At the Smart Wear Research Center, Yonsei University, textile-based ECG
electrodes were developed using embroidery. Stainless steel yarns were used to
embroider electrodes as shown in Figure 2. The embroidered electrodes were
attached to three types of knitted shirts with different spandex content from 0 to 7%
to examine the effect of fabric elasticity on ECG monitoring and the wearers comfort.
The performance of embroidered electrodes is further discussed in section 3.5.
In the work of Loriga, Taccini, De Rossi, and Paradiso (2005), conductive and
piezoresistive yarns were integrated in a knitted garment and used as sensor and
electrode elements to monitor cardiopulmonary activity. Strain fabric sensors
586 Cho, Lee, and Cho
were realized based on conductive yarn as the piezoresistive domains. The fabrics
exhibited piezoresistive properties in response to an external mechanical stimu-
lus, and a voltage divider was used to convert resistance acquired by fabric
piezoresistive sensors to voltage. Fabric electrodes were realized with a yarn in
which a stainless steel wire was twisted around a cotton-based yarn. Electrocar-
diogram and impedance pneumography signals were obtained from the fabric
sensors and electrodes.
Catrysse et al. (2004) developed a textile sensor, called the Respibelt, for
measuring respiration. Made of a stainless steel yarn and knitted in a Lycra-
containing belt, the belt was able to provide an adjustable stretch. The Respibelt
was worn around the abdomen or thorax, and circumference and length changes
of the Respibelt from breathing were measured, which gives changes in resistance
and inductance. Thoracic changes in perimeter and cross-section were measured
through the resistance and inductance variation.
Brady et al. (2005) presented a foam-based pressure sensor that was integrated
into a garment for monitoring the wearers respiration rate. The sensor was fabri-
cated by coating polyurethane foam with a conducting polymer, polypyrrole
(PPy). The conducting polymer coated foams were soft, compressible, and sensi-
tive to forces from all three dimensions, unlike coated fabrics that work as two-
dimensional. The PPy coated foam sensors measure chest expansion based on
compression of the foam structure between the body and the garment, whereas
the conductive fabric sensors, described earlier, measure respiration rate based on
the expansion and contraction of the ribcage from the stretch of the sensor.
In recent years, fiber optic technologies have attracted much attention in that
they offer both sensing and signal transmission functions. Fiber Bragg-grating
(FBG) sensors are fabricated by modulating the refractive index of the core in a
single-mode optic fiber to detect the wavelength-shift induced by strain or
temperature change (Tian & Tao, 2001; D. Yang, Tao, & Zhang, 2001). FBG sensors
Review and Reappraisal of Smart Clothing 587
contain a diffraction grid that reflects the incident light of a certain wavelength in
the direction from where the light is coming. The value of this wavelength
linearly relates to a possible elongation or contraction of the fiber. In this way, the
Bragg sensor can function as a sensor for deformation. They have been used for
the monitoring of the structural condition of fiber-reinforced composites, concrete
constructions or other construction materials. The potential applications of FBG
sensors in smart clothing include health monitoring, impact detection, shape
control, and so on.
Others. Baber (2001) reported developments of flex sensors that allow move-
ment of fingers to correspond to numbers, which can act as an input interface
device. Fitted into the fingers of a glove, the flex sensor sends a digit via a micro-
controller to the display when the wearer bends a finger. For instance, a single
bend sends 0 to 4, and a double bend corresponds to 5 to 9. The wearer can
change to a control mode via a small switch mounted on the thumb. The technol-
ogy has a potential to offer a means of controlling devices or entering data.
Output Interface
An output interface is a medium by which information is presented to the
wearer. Visual, auditory and tactile interfaces are major means to interact
between human and wearable systems.
Visual interface. Visual displays are still the dominant output devices used
for conventional computing systems. To be worn on the human body as a part of
smart clothing, visual displays must be compliable and conformable to the body.
Developments of flexible displays for smart clothing have been ongoing.
Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) and polymeric light-emitting diodes
have attracted considerable attention in recent years for use in flat panel displays
where liquid crystal displays are currently the major display technology. The
advantages of OLEDs over other display technologies are that they have high
contrast, a high level of brightness, and full viewing angle, and they require much
less power (Tao, 2005b). Flexible OLEDs, that is, OLEDs fabricated on a flexible
substrate such as plastic or metallic foil, have a strong potential for use in smart
clothing because they are very light and conformable. Conjugated polymers have
shown to provide good flexibility and mechanical properties, making them prom-
ising candidates for flexible OLEDs.
Textile-based flexible displays based on optical fibers have been investi-
gated as well. In the work of Koncar, Deflin, and Weill (2005), poly(methyl-
methacrylate) optical fibers with a diameter of 0.5 mm were used with other
textile yarns in weaving to construct an optical fiber flexible display. Flexible
displays were created on textiles by producing a screen matrix. A small elec-
tronic device was integrated into the system to control the light emitting diodes
(LEDs), which illuminate groups of fibers. Various weave construction can be
applied in weaving optical fibers, including dobby and jacquard weaves as
well as basic weaves.
Review and Reappraisal of Smart Clothing 589
Others. Shape memory materials are materials that are able to return to a
prescribed shape with the right stimuli such as heat or an electrical current.
A temperature change is normally used to stimulate shape memory materials,
and the transformation is because of changes in its internal structure with temper-
ature (Lam Po Tang & Stylios, 2006). The two most common forms of shape mem-
ory material are shape memory alloys (SMA) and shape memory polymers
(SMP).
SMAs can exist in the form of yarn, making them comparable with textile
materials. Nickel-titanium and copper-based alloys are typical examples of SMAs
(Lane & Craig, 2003). In the work of Winchester and Stylios (2003), SMA was
spun in combination with traditional fibers and created bicomponent yarns,
590 Cho, Lee, and Cho
which were then developed into knitted structures. In a shirt developed by Corpo
Nove (http://www.corponove.it), SMA was woven with traditional textile mate-
rial. The shirt shortens its sleeves when the temperature increases, and creases in
the fabric disappear when stimulated.
SMPs exhibit higher extensibility, superior processability, lower weight, and
better hand and touch, compared with SMAs (Lam Po Tang & Stylios, 2006).
Examples of SMPs include segmented polyurethane-based polymers, crosslinked
poly(cyclooctene) and poly(lactic acid) and poly(vinylacetate) blends. SMPs can
be extruded as fibers and used as filament yarns or spun in combination with
other fibers, which can be incorporated into knitted or woven structures (Chan
Vili, 2007).
2.2. Communication
Short-Range Communications
In smart clothing systems, on-body communications can be wired or wireless,
including embedded wiring, infrared, and Bluetooth technology.
the band, and the width of the band was set at 14 mm to allow easy connection
with regular connectors. The bands were very flexible as illustrated in the figure.
The transmission lines can be used as a textile-based network connecting various
electronic components in smart clothing.
Jayaraman and coworkers (Lind et al., 1997; Park & Jayaraman, 2001) devel-
oped a garment in which electrically conductive fiber and plastic optical fibers
transfer information from sensors to processing units. As mentioned earlier, the
garment was designed for military use, monitoring vital signs in combat person-
nel, detecting bullet wounds, and transferring information on bullet penetration.
These tasks were performed by interfiber electrical connections and connectors
for power and data interconnects to and from the garment.
Long-Range Communications
Wireless connections are necessary for large-area communication systems.
Among various communication systems, the Global System for Mobile communi-
cations is suitable for small-sized data transfer such as voice transmission. The
Third Generation wireless system can transfer larger files such as pictures and
videos.
The major problem with power supplies used for conventional wearable electron-
ics is that they are bulky, heavy, and rigid with limited lifetime. Usually the big-
gest and heaviest part in the wearable electronics is energy supply and storage,
and they need to be recharged with current levels of power consumption. For use
in smart clothing, power supplies must be flexible and light to be capable of being
incorporated into clothing and not to be a burden to the wearer. They should be
long-lasting and easy to recharge on the move, or use alternative energy sources
without the need for recharging. They should be resistant to washing and to wear.
Several approaches have been made to reduce the size and weight of the elec-
tronic components so that they can be integrated into clothing as unobtrusively as
possible and to develop novel energy supply technologies from various sources
(e.g., sunlight, heat, vibration, etc.).
Research has been ongoing to miniaturize the electronic components for
energy supplies. Bharatula, Zinniker, and Trster (2005) reported development of
a miniaturized hybrid micropower supply for wearable-pervasive sensors, using
a lithium-ion button battery and a photo voltaic module with power management
Review and Reappraisal of Smart Clothing 593
Integrated circuits are made out of semiconductor materials, and silicon is the
material most often used in integrated circuit fabrication. However, the rigidity of
silicon chips led to look for an alternative material that is flexible for use in
wearable systems. Conductive polymeric materials have emerged as promising
materials for such use since they are flexible, lightweight, and robust (Tao, 2005a).
There has been significant progress in smart clothing technology since the first
generation of wearable computers. Due to advances in integration technology,
bulky and rigid portable machines attached to wearable systems became a part of
smart clothing, embedded inside the clothing. New materials, structures, and
techniques led to the stage of commercialization. Biomonitoring smart clothing
systems such as LifeShirt are commercially available. Yet a larger part is still
remained for true smart clothing in which all the components are in full textile
materials. Active research on developing textile-based integrated circuits and
594 Cho, Lee, and Cho
energy supplies is required. For real wearability, issues such as maintenance and
durability need to be addressed as well. Human aspects in smart clothing, which
is another integral part to consider in smart clothing, is discussed in the following
section.
3.1. Usability
Learnability: The system should be easy to learn so that the user can rapidly
start getting some work done.
Efficiency: The system should be efficient to use, so that once the user has
learned the system, a high level of productivity is possible.
Memorability: The system should be easy to remember, so that the casual user
is able to return to the system after some period of not having used it, with-
out having to learn everything all over again.
Low error rate: The system should have a low error rate, so that users make
few errors during the use of the system. When and if they do make errors,
they should be able to recover from them easily. Furthermore, catastrophic
errors must not occur.
Satisfaction: The system should be pleasant to use.
3.2. Functionality
showed that rubber dome keypads with 62 gf of operation force were preferred to
metal dome keypads with 320 gf of operation force (Figure 5). Likewise, optimiza-
tion of the feedback is a key aspect for keypads construction.
There have been researches on the performance of textile-based ECG electrodes,
which were developed to replace AgCl ECG electrodes commercially available for
medical use. Jang, Cho, Jeong, and Cho (2007) developed a type of electrode made
of Cu-sputtered polyester fabric, and Cho, Jang, and Cho (2007) constructed
another type of electrode by embroidering stainless steel yarns on a cotton fabric.
To make Cu-sputtered fabrics for ECG electrodes, Cu-sputtering was per-
formed on water-resistant nylon fabrics in a vacuum chamber by applying a high
voltage across a low-pressure argon gas. For the ECG measurement, the textile
electrodes were prepared in the size of 1.5 cm 3 cm. Then, they were placed on
both wrists and on one right ankle replacing the conventional AgCl electrodes.
Generally, the signals of both AgCl and Cu-sputtered textile electrodes
represented similar wave patterns as shown in Figure 6. But it was found that the
Cu-sputtered electrodes showed wider range of voltage than the AgCl electrodes
did. This is because of wider contact area of the textile electrodes than the com-
mercially available AgCl electrodes, which were 1 cm in diameter.
On the other hand, the other types of electrodes were constructed by embroi-
dering stainless steel yarns. The electrodes were attached into three positions of
right and left chests and left abdomen of mens sleeveless shirts. By conducting
wear test, the R-peak detection rates were obtained from ECG signals (Figure 7).
The reason why the embroidered electrodes had lower accuracy than the
Cu-sputtered textile electrodes is because of the lower conductance of stainless
steel yarn and much smaller contact area.
3.3. Durability
0.4
0.3
0.2
Voltage(V) 0.1
0.0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0
Time(sec)
(a) AgCl electrode
0.4
0.3
0.2
Voltage(V)
0.1
0.0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0
Time(sec)
(b) Cu-sputtered electrode
FIGURE 6 ECG signals of AgCl electrode and Cu-sputtered fabric. Note. From
Exploring Possibilities of ECG Electrodes for Bio-Monitoring Smartwear With Cu
Sputtered Fabrics, by S. Jang, J. Cho, K. Jeong, & G. Cho, 2007, Proceedings of HCI
International 2007, Fig. 6, p. 1136. Copyright 2007 by Springer. Reprinted with kind
permission of Springer Science and Business Media.
FIGURE 7 ECG signals of ECG shirt embroidered with stainless steel yarns.
operated an MP3 player using the laundered fabric by replacing the middle parts
of earphone lines, the earphones successfully worked and no sound quality dif-
ference was subjectively perceived. Therefore, the metal plated fabric with PU
double sealing exhibited almost the same performance as the conventional Cu
earphone lines (Figure 8).
Review and Reappraisal of Smart Clothing 599
3.4. Safety
Safety is the state of being safe, the condition of being protected against physical,
social, psychological, or other types of harm. The mechanical feature of the smart
clothing may be accrued as a result of functional error. Providing safe smart clothing
requires consideration of physical forms, electromagnetic waves, electric current,
and so on.
To improve the safety performance of conductive narrow fabric for signal
transmission, Y. Yang, Sung, Cho, Jeong, and Cho (2007) investigated whether
Teflon-coating on the metal yarns, used for constructing conductive narrow
fabric, provide better safety function. After external physical force (bending/
abrasion) has been applied to the fabric, their functionalities with respect to
electric insulation and electrical interference between neighboring lines were
compared. The result verified that the narrow fabric utilizing Teflon-coated signal
transmission lines had superior safety performance in maintaining electric insula-
tion and preventing electrical interference (Figure 9).
For the mass-production of smart clothing, the safety functions of smart
clothing should be studied further from more diverse aspects. Through that
process, a standard index needs to be established for both manufacturers and
consumers.
(a) Without Teflon coating (before abrasion) (b) With Teflon coating (before abrasion)
(c) Without Teflon coating (after abrasion) (d)With Teflon coating (after abrasion)
FIGURE 9 Conductive narrow fabrics for signal transmission lines before and after
abrasion.
600 Cho, Lee, and Cho
3.5. Comfort
3.6. Fashion
Smart clothing may be used in various fields because its services reach informa-
tion, assistance, communication, aesthetics, and so on. Some products have
already been introduced on the markets, but generally it can be stated that the
development is in its starting phase, but its potential is enormous. However, none
of the smart clothing applications is considered a full integration of high technol-
ogy and fashion design because of the imbalanced contribution from electronics
and fashion industries. This section illustrates the current situation of product
development in the smart clothing area and explains the technology involved in
integrating electronics into fashion.
4.1. Bio-Monitoring
Body Signal
Medical monitors have benefited from technological advances in the fields of
wireless communication, processing, and power sources. These advances have
made possible the miniaturization and prolonged operating times of medical
monitors as well as their global integration into telemedical systems. Medical
monitors allow patients to have real-time feedback about medical conditions
using such data such as respiration, ECG, Galvanic skin response (GSR), skin pH,
temperature, and blood oximetry while going about their normal daily activities.
They also give data to athletes during training and healthy users about their phys-
iological state (Raskovic, Martin, & Jovanov, 2003).
The SmartShirt wearable motherboard, which was developed by Park and
Jayaraman in 2001, can be used in persons who have known disorders. It permits
a constant monitoring of their physical condition by medical personnel in a non-
invasive manner. The goal of the SmartShirt System is to significantly minimize
casualties for first responders by providing knowledge of their health status to
on-scene commanders in a number of emergency situations. The SmartShirt can
monitor a wide variety of vital signs such as heart rate, ECG, respiration, and
Review and Reappraisal of Smart Clothing 603
blood pressure. The initial system consists of three lead ECG, heart rate monitor,
and respiration monitor. The SmartShirt uses electro-optical fibers embedded in
the fabric to collect biomedical information. The information is sent to a transmit-
ter at the base of the shirt where it is stored on a memory chip or sent to a doctor,
coach, or personal server via a wireless network like Bluetooth, RF, wLAN, or cel-
lular. This item is equipped with basic components for a smart clothing system,
but only a limited textile technology is used on communication.
The VivoMetricss flagship product, Lifeshirt, is an ambulatory monitoring
vest that monitors respiration by means of thoracic and abdominal inductive
plethysmography bands sewn into a Lycra vest. In this case, the shirts input
interface system is functionalized with carbon-loaded rubber piezoresistive fabric
sensors, used to monitor respiration trace (Grossman, 2003). Lifeshirt also
includes an ECG sensor, which is usually used for medical purposes. Once the
data are gathered, they are stored in Lifeshirt recorder. This data management
system is incorporated into a customized Handspring worn on the patients belt
or carried in a pocket. After gathering the data, the patient will upload the data
via the Internet to the VivoMetrics secure data center. Then the data are reviewed
by technicians and physicians. Lifeshirt is a commercial product that collects, ana-
lyzes, and reports on the individuals pulmonary, cardiac, and posture data
(Solaz et al., 2006).
Taccini, Loriga, Dittmar, Paradiso, and Milior (2004) presented the Wealthy
system, that integrates several function modules such as sensing, conditioning,
preprocessing, data transmission, and remote monitoring. The Wealthy system
also contains a prototype of a respiration sensing device that uses impedance to
derive the respiration of the wearer. The main respiration and movement activity
come from piezoresistive sensors, which are used in the input interface, sampled
at 16 Hz. Signals from them are transmitted with no local processing. The coated
Lycra fabric was used to detect respiration signals. Strain fabric sensors based on
piezoresistive yarns and the fabric electrodes realized with metal-based yarns
enable the realization of wearable and wireless instrumented garments capable of
recording physiological signals. The Wealthy system is to be used during the rou-
tine activity and to be worn in place of a classical garment without any discomfort
for the user. The most innovative character of this system consists in the use of
functionalized materials in the form of fibers and yarns which can be knitted or
woven into a multifunctional sensing fabric (Taccini et al., 2004).
Sensate Liner was designed by Lind and Eisler (1997) to implement a manage-
able cost-effective systems approach to monitoring the medical condition of per-
sonnel by way of an instrumented uniform. The Sensate Liner textile consists of a
mesh of electrically and optically conductive fibers integrated into the normal struc-
ture (woven or knitted) of fibers and yarns selected for comfort and durability. The
Sensate Liner consists of a form-fitting two-piece jumpsuits, which contain and
interconnect sensing elements and device to an electronics pack containing a
processor and a transmitter. The structure contains regularly spaced yarns acting
as sensing elements and precisely positioned yarns for carrying signals from the
sensors to the Personal Status Monitor. The fabric substrates are also suitable for
incorporation of optical sensors, reflective or camouflage materials, communica-
tions networking, or fiberoptic cable interfaces.
604 Cho, Lee, and Cho
Body Movement
Motions, motion patterns, gestures, and postures are basic elements character-
izing human activity. Tracking of body motions, gestures and positions provide
information useful for activity classification, for denoising of other biosignals, and
for interpretation of the physiological status (Trster, 2004). Accelerometers,
gyroscopes, magnetometers, piezoelectric sensors and global positioning system
(GPS) are often combined to detect motion.
Many studies have been conducted on the methods of measuring human
motions in various areas, making use of such equipment as wearable computers
or smart clothing. Most of them have utilized motion capture systems and
acceleration sensors. However, this technique causes inconveniences to users and
requires many devices such as cameras and image analyzing systems. Thus,
textile-based motion sensors can be an alternative to motion capture systems
(Sung, Cho, Jeong, & Cho, 2007).
Sung, DeVaul, Jimenez, Gips, and Pentland (2004) presented a wearable real-
time shiver monitor based on the MIThril Live Net system, a flexible distributed
mobile platform that can be used for a variety of proactive health care applica-
tions. In this exploratory study, they have demonstrated that shivering can be
accurately determined from continuous accelerometer sensing. They attempted to
develop a real-time wearable monitor that is capable of accurately classifying
shivering motions through simple accelerometer sensing and statistical machine
learning techniques. Motion sensing is accomplished via two embedded micro-
controller-based sensors based on the Analog Devices ADXL202 accelerometer
part. As moderate cold exposure occurs, this shivering can become intense,
uncontrollable. This exploratory research anticipates the emergence of real-time
health monitoring systems capable of classifying the cold exposure of soldiers in
harsh cold environments with noninvasive sensing and minimal embedded
computational resources.
Motoi et al. (2006) developed a wearable system for monitoring static and
dynamic posture together with the walking speed, reporting its usefulness in the
rehabilitation field. Using the new system, a quantitative assessment of the patients
motion can be carried out during rehabilitation programs. In the dynamic pos-
ture, the angle change is obtained by integrating the gyro-sensor signal. By using
a CCD camera and capture board, the movements of four markers attached on the
subjects are simultaneously recorded with a frame speed of 30 frames per second.
Posture changes of participants are also recorded using a digital video camera.
Despite the precise evaluation, this system still needs to be flexible by applying
the electronic textile technology.
Inductive fiber-meshed transducers were developed by Wijesiriwardana
(2006), which can be integrated into garments for angular measurements. The
inductive fiber-meshed transducers can be integrated into sleeves of the garments
and they can be integrated at the tights and the calf of leggings. Knitting technol-
ogy is used for its construction and metallic as the materials. A single coil based
on variation in self-inductance or electromagnetic induction is used for the mea-
surement of angular displacement. The input interface incorporating knitting
technology provides more body movement comfort than any other materials.
606 Cho, Lee, and Cho
Gibbs and Asada (2004) created wearable conductive fiber sensors for measuring
joint movements that provide a technique that uses conductive fibers as part of a
wearable sensor for continuous monitoring of joint movements. To measure such
joint movements, an array of 11 conductive yarns across the knee joint is used for
the input interface. Each yarn is separated by a distance of 5 mm, and each has an
unstretched length of 55 cm. The threads are silver-plated nylon 66 yarns pro-
duced by embedding tiny particles of electrically conductive carbon powder into
the surface of a nylon fiber.
A sensing and monitoring system was developed by Michahelles and Schiele
(2005) for professional skiers. The system based on wearable sensors and video
recording can reveal important features describing the athletes motions, helping
trainers to identify the skiers strengths and weaknesses. Using force-sensing
resistors, they placed sensors on 3 points on the foot in the shape of a triangle and
averaged the pressure to obtain a center of pressure. When the skiers foot applies
pressure, semiconductive ink in the sensor produces a shunting of the electrodes,
which we measure as a resistance value. The system can provide autonomous
teaching of snowboarding, skateboarding, and cycling.
Taelman et al. (2006) suggested contactless EMG sensors for continuous moni-
toring of muscle activity to prevent musculoskeletal disorders. The sensors are
developed to construct a wearable textile with integrated EMG sensors capable of
measuring muscle activity in an unobtrusive way. The developed sensors do not
require electrical contact with the skin because they detect an electric displace-
ment current by means of a capacitive coupling to the body. For the integration of
the sensors, embroidery with conductive and insulated threads is used. The
avoidance of direct skin contact gives the opportunity to wear the vest above
other clothing. The design of a contactless sensor developed by the integration of
electronics in textile provides the user with comfortable clothing.
Rocha and Correia (2006) designed a wearable sensor network for body
kinematics monitoring. The sensor measures the body kinematics such as posture,
gesture, heart rate, respiratory rate, and temperature of a patient during treat-
ment. In this case, sensing modules composed of 3-axis accelerometers, 3-axis
magnetometers, and interface electronics are integrated in a swimming suit and
connected to a microcontroller by a serial interface. The suit integrates the floats
and electronic components such as sensors and assures the monitoring of the
patients kinematics.
The main characteristic of the application is the wet environment, which adds
unique development constraints. Therefore, customized sensing microsystems
inserted in waterproof pockets can be integrated in the textiles. The body
kinematics monitor microsystem is a sensor network composed of five modules.
Both the gravitational force and the earth magnetic field are used to detect the
posture of the main body articulations.
Garments that can gather body context information were developed by
Dunne, Brady, Smyth, and Diamond (2005). The key component is a pressure-
sensitive PPy-coated foam to gather the body context information. Instead of
monitoring changes in limb position or body length or circumference measures,
information is gathered from the preexisting dynamic physical forces that operate
between the wearers body and a garment during physiological functions or
Review and Reappraisal of Smart Clothing 607
4.2. Entertainment
Smart clothing is a new and growing trend in the worldwide clothing market. A
number of sportswear companies are successfully selling their products by add-
ing more values such as information and entertainment that are becoming new
value items in clothing. Now, smart clothing appealing to entertainment is getting
attention by interacting with emotional effect.
Post et al. (2000), the researchers of MIT Media Lab, have built Musical Jackets
with a touch-sensitive MIDI keyboard embroidered directly into the fabric using
conductive thread. The thread, embroidered into a standard 4 3 character key-
pad below the right shoulder, contains stainless steel filaments, making it con-
ductive. The capacitive loading of the body is detected when the thread is
touched; the keypad is polyphonic, thus several keys can be hit simultaneously.
Sound is generated by a single-chip General MIDI wavetable synthesizer, and
sequences are generated in a microcontroller. The jacket is entirely battery oper-
ated, with powered speakers in the pockets. Among the smart clothing compo-
nents equipped in this jacket, textile technology has been applied to the input
interface.
The Smart Wear Research Center has presented an MP3 player dress where
textile-based transmission lines and textile-based switches are incorporated.
608 Cho, Lee, and Cho
Switches are freely placed on the font bodice, representing different symbols for
MP3 player operation.
The Smart Wear Research Center has also presented a photonic dress which
illuminates on the fabric surface when combined with a LED as a light source. The
basic type of photonic dress is based on the POF fabrication technique and the
etching technique on the POF surface. To make the POF fabric evenly illuminate,
the etching effect should be uniform and the amount of etching should be con-
trolled which is also related to fabric durability.
The color-responding photonic dress can change its color according to the
environment. When a certain color is sensed by the color sensor, the color is
characterized by a specific value. After a corresponding color is matched by using
three colors of LEDs, and the light is emitted through the POF fabric.
The sound-responding photonic dress (Figure 11) can change its color by the
environment sound. Because a microcondensor is controlled to sense a low
frequency of sound, the corresponding frequency (e.g., drum sound) changes
resistance and capacitor. By connecting this sound-sensing module to an LED, the
POF fabrics can be illuminated like an equalizer. The components of the sound-
responding photonic jacket are POF fabrics with an LED, an LED control module,
and rechargeable batteries.
Vilkas and Kukkia, designed by Berzowska and Marcelo (2005), are expressive
and behavioral kinetic sculptures. Vilkas is a dress with a kinetic hemline on the
right side that rises over a 30-sec interval to reveal the knee and lower thigh. It is
constructed of heavy handmade felt that contracts through the use of hand-
stitched Nitinol wires. Nitinol, an SMA made of nickel and titanium, has the
ability to indefinitely remember its geometry if once treated to acquire a specific
shape. Using this characteristic, the Nitinol can be used to create a wrinkling
effect.
The Kukkia dress is decorated with three animated flowers that open and close
over a 15-sec interval. When heated, the wire shrinks and pulls the petals
together, closing the flower. As it cools down, the rigidity of the felt counteracts
the shape of the wire, allowing the flower to open. This dress is operated by a
microcontroller triggering drivers that send power to the Nitinol. Also, it uses a
small rechargeable lithium polymer cells that can power the dress for 2 hr. As the
output interface, the shape memory embedded fabric is used.
Touch is a powerful conduit for emotional connectedness. Haptic research
includes the design of interactions employing devices through which virtual
physical models can be felt, just as we display to our visual sense with graphical
displays. Using haptic communication, separated individuals interact with one
another through a pair of haptic displays, which are themselves connected via a
computer running coupled virtual physical models (Smith, 2007).
The Sensor Sleeve, which was designed by Randell et al. (2005), is a cloth that
enables emotional messages to be exchanged remotely between people who are
relationally close, by conveying a sense of touch and presence. The sleeve detects
embrace and stroke actions centered on the arm. A smart textile system comprising
of textile circuits with gesture and touch sensors, together with microcontroller
and Bluetooth devices, is integrated into the sleeve of a garment.
Cutecircuits Hug Shirt (http://www.cutecircuit.com) is a shirt that makes
people send hugs over distance, using a wearable Bluetooth for a mobile phone.
It has detachable pads containing sensors that sense touch pressure and heart-
beat. The actuators reproduce the sensation of touch and warmth. When touching
the red areas on the shirt, the mobile phone receives the sensors data via
Bluetooth and then delivers it to the other person. The Hug Shirt is built using
textile pad type of interfaces, wireless communication, integrated circuit, and
rechargeable batteries. The military sees the usefulness in the Hug Shirt by allow-
ing their soldiers to exchange their loved ones far away at home. After nominated
as one of the 2006 innovations of the year by Time magazine, the Hug Shirt is
being prepared to enter the market.
Dunne (2004) designed massage shirts to use vibrotactility for a simple application
that is required for communication or information display. During testing of the vibro-
tactile shoulder pad display, a common subject response to the tactile stimulus is that
the stimulus felt relaxing or comforting or soothing. Thus it is hypothesized that
a massage function, based on the use of the same vibrating motors used in the shoul-
der pad, would be an attractive functionality. To achieve the vibrating massage, each
shirt contained six to eight flat vibrating motors powered by one 9-volt battery.
Communication-Wear designed by the Sharon Baurleys research team is a
wearable technology clothing concept that augments the mobile phone by
enabling expressive messages to be exchanged remotely, by conveying a sense of
touch and presence (Baurley, Brock, Geelhoed, & Moore, 2007). Actuation of hug
message takes place via generation of a warming sensation using heatable tex-
tiles, symbolizing the warming sensation felt when touched by another person.
When a hug or embrace gesture is sent, the heat pads in the back of the jacket
heat up. Communication of touch messages takes place between garments via
Bluetooth. Physiological arousal, as detected by the GSR sensors, is relayed to the
partner by light being emitted from the fiber-optic section.
610 Cho, Lee, and Cho
This garment contains a circuit board where a PIC microcontroller for processing
is mounted. The jacket also has a 7.2-volt rechargeable battery. This Communication-
Wear also contains input interface like touch sensing method or textile-based GSR
sensor, output interface (heat-emitting fabric, light emitting fabric), and commu-
nication interface such as Bluetooth, integrated circuit, and battery.
As affective computing grown out of wearable computing was suggested by
Picard and Healey (1997), smart clothing has started to become concerned with
clothing that has the skills to recognize physical and psychological patterns and
translate these into emotions. Expressions of emotion also include changes in the
autonomic nervous system activity such as accelerated heart rate or increasing
skin conductivity (Baurley, 2005). This is potentially very useful in engineering
smart clothing equipped with a series of function sensing of the wearers physio-
logical signals, analyzing the collected data, and actuating by providing the wearers
with appropriate responses.
The Scentsory Design (http://www.smartsecondskin.com) project chooses
scent as a tool to improve the mental and physical well-being. The designs speak
for the wearer through the sense of smell, by reading and interpreting emotions,
enabling the wearer to express their feelings through the delivery of color and
scent emitted from clothing. Thus, the item produces a very personal scent, deliv-
ering sensations on demand. This kind of smart clothing can alleviate mental and
physical health problems through the delivery of odorant benefit chemicals in
controlled ways responding to personal needs.
Marrin (1999) developed the Conductors Jacket, one of the physiological
sensing systems that are robust to motion artifacts. This highly expressive wear-
able system is associated with patterns of muscle tension and breathing with
expressive gestures that the conductor uses to shape the music. Seven EMG and
one respiration sensors for the input interface are included. The EMG sensors are
attached with custom-fit elastics sewn into the shirt, so that they remain snug
without strong adhesives and yet do not move as the arms are moved. This
wearable system was designed first to measure how professional and student
conductors naturally communicate expressive information to an orchestra. After
analyzing real conducting data from six participants, Marrin found thirty signifi-
cant expressive features related to muscle tension changes.
4.3. Information
washing. Although input device is made of textile material, output device is still
packaged in a hard case, making it difficult to completely integrated.
Randell (2001) from the Bristol Wearable Computing project team developed a
CyberJacket, which provides a platform for developing and testing wearable com-
puting applications. The CyberJacket has a network computer along with a number
of context sensing devices including a GPS receiver, ultrasonic indoor location sen-
sors, an electronic compass, and accelerometers. The user interface includes speech
recognition and audio playback, and displays can be handheld, headmounted, or
worn on the sleeve. When the CyberJacket detects that the user is approaching a
certain place, a short audio message is played through an earpiece. If the user reacts
by stopping, a page of relevant information appears on the sleeve. The devices in
the CyberJacket are still in the early stage of integration into clothing.
With the growing interest on smart clothing from industry as well as academia, it
is anticipated that the area of smart clothing will continue to expand. Growth is
expected to occur not only in the applications where certain functions or special-
ized activities are required but also in everyday clothing in which the wearers
emotions could be recognized and expressed.
Figure 12 summarizes the components of smart clothing technology, the services
that smart clothing can provide, and examples of the applications. Individual
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