The smart way to look good
by Prabuddha Aturukorala
  Picture the first time standing
in front of the person of your dreams. After gathering the courage you
initiated, you panicked. The most romantic dialogue was at the tip of
your tongue, but you only ended up blabbering nonsense and you were
sweating profusely. Chances are, the embarrassing first time blues would
have haunted much of you and you must be wondering how to ace that first
impression. Luckily, solutions to all your nightmares could be as easy
as changing the suit you put on.
Are you confused or thinking about sporting the best looking piece
from your wardrobe? The type of apparel which will make you feel and
look cool will give you that extra edge. Welcome to the world of smart
clothing. Although the concept has been not such a novel one worldwide,
it certainly is new to the Sri Lankan market and might still be few
years away from coming to a full swing.
Evolution of smart clothing
This is an intelligent system which is capable of sensing and
communicating at the same time with the wearer’s conditions as well as
the surroundings. It all started with the need to integrate the
advancements made in the field of computer technology and electronics
into the stuff we wear. Research work has been going on since the turn
of the century, and the initial attempt was not so fruitful and was
popularly known as “wearable computers”.
Apart from being bulky and heavy to carry around, these garments were
not very pleasing to the eye either. It was then that nano-technology
and embedded electronics came to the rescue. With such groundbreaking
technologies miniaturizing the product became a reality. Additionally,
creating cloth printed boards like Fabric PCBs was made possible. As a
result, all the features of a traditional textile such as being
lightweight, flexible and most importantly easily washable were
preserved. Henceforth, at present electronic textiles are moving from
being the subject of intensive global R & D projects into fully
functional products.
 How it works, the logic behind intelligent dressing can be explained
in a simplified way. After all, it is input and output interfaces
transferring information between the wearer and the devices or
environment. Input interfaces take form of textile based buttons and
keyboards, sensors and electrodes, body movement detectors and even
voice recognition systems. The information gathered through such means
will then be displayed with the help of LED or LCD panels build within
the outfit. In brief, the working more or less resembles your personal
computer.
Mobile laboratory apart from being recognized as a style icon, has
revolutionized way of dressing. This could extend your life span as
well. Possibilities are seemingly endless. One could be walking down an
alley listening to the favourite tune over the internet while at the
same time perform multiple tasks. Your heart rate, blood pressure and
body temperature could be monitored on the move and a report would be
sent to the doctor which could save valuable time in case of an
emergency.
Customizing your clothes at present, the industry has expanded to
such an extent that certain groups have got together to make end-user
customization to E-textiles. The idea behind such communities is to
design and build their own products under the motto: DO IT YOURSELF (DIY).
Some alterations include the design of clothes which displays a picture
according to the mood you feel.
 Thought could be scary also, imagine a scenario in which you are
feeling down and trying to hide it from others, while your dress reveals
the true emotions. With an increasing number of leading companies and
fashion designers offering help towards making radical breakthroughs in
the electronics costumes the future looks very rosy for the industry.
Add to that increase in the customer demand, since the users have become
increasingly tech savvy; soon the stores would be thriving with
E-textile products.
So the next time, all you folks think about expressing the crush of
your life how much you love, without actually getting crushed, think
twice about what you are going to purchase, as smart clothing could well
be your answer.
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