So this exists: Smart Fabric

May 11, 2016
The phone got smart, guns might get there, now my shirt?!

A little website - perhaps you've heard of www.firstresponder.gov - published a short article about the possible investment into smart fabrics for first responders. The article is aptly named "S&T Looks to Invest in Smart Fabrics to Support First Responders." If you haven't ran across it or just hadn't gotten to reading it yet, let me help you out and explain.

No there is too much, let me sum up.

Let me get this out first, one of the initial things I thought of with smart fabric was from the consumer-angled company Herschel. They were recently featured in an online video from WIRED. There they call their products "retro-cool backpacks you see all over town." (What town? I haven't seen any of these. Maybe I'm living in the wrong town.) The company dubbed a treatment of their's Sealtech and apparently heals itself when punctured. The video pokes a hole with a pen, then a knife, holes from either of which couldn't be torn larger. So it's ripstop fabric .... or is it ripstop with a treatment?
The fabric itself has quite a shine to it. And right now it looks like it's only a backpack at the moment. Let curiosity take over and check out the video - the hole from the assisted-opening knife wasn't big enough so they just ... well ... I'll just say that they apparently had a machete laying around.

Self-healing fabric sounds like +1 point towards adding the adjective "smart" to fabric.

Back to the Point

Now know of the Smart Fabrics Summit - so that's a thing. The event happened just about a month ago, April 11 to be exact, in Washington D.C. It was hosted by the Department of Commerce and the Industrial Fabrics Association International. I'll skip the "a summit is a collection of like-minded individuals" part. Iit's a summit, pretty straight forward. They define their discussions to identify where and how consumers interact with their clothes. Perhaps communicate may be a better term. The mission of their panel discussions are threefold, and I quote:

  1. Bring together industries that need to collaborate in order for this emerging industry to meet its full potential and accelerate its development by U.S. companies;
  2. Improve mutual understanding of the needs of private sector industries and the roles of public sector agencies; and
  3. Spur original thinking among public and private sector organizations about how new or existing policies interact with future smart fabrics products.

They discussed the market, opportunities (it seems first responders were not overlooked), challenges in introducing electronics in your clothing (like, say, washing them), and more - all before lunch. So here we're using "smart" in the sense that our fabric could communicate information to us.

While this happened a month ago, this conversation is on people's minds. The best manufacturers out there aren't only just thinking about making more of the same pants you're wearing right now but how to improve them. How to put new ideas into our uniforms to make the police officer that much more safe.

“Over all,” FRB Director Daniel Cotter said, “we need to think of smart fabrics as being a technology platform to support the Next Generation First Responder Apex Program which is specifically designed to help tomorrow’s first responder be better protected, connected and fully aware. It is really an interesting concept for us to be thinking about in the future.” 

As written in the release, "S&T is already working on technologies that have the potential to be embedded in smart fabrics. Wearables that can locate first responders during emergencies, house physiological monitoring devices and that can detect hazardous materials may, in the future, be integrated directly into actual garments to keep first responders safer." Another idea I read was electronics in the fabric could allow your own movement to charge wearable tech. 

And this Summit isn't working alone. Work has already begun in trying to figure out what our high-tech clothes will be in five years time. In August 2015, the Night Generation First Responder Apex Program began. And they state: "NGFR is developing an integrated and modular ensemble that includes an enhanced duty uniform, personal protective equipment (PPE), wearable computing and sensing technology, and robust communication networks."

Think the Internet of Things (IoT) and apply it to more than just your smartphone, tablet, or ... eye-roll ... watch. Think of your shoes - like the ones that have an integrated GPS that gives the wearer green LEDs when they're walking correct direction. Think of your holster that triggers your body camera in case it wasn't already recording. Think of your helmet displaying a HUD onto the face-shield. 

I would love to be a fly on the wall in these discussions. 

If only to buzz around people's faces making sure the "smart" features don't force law enforcement to rely on them. As Frank pointed out in his smart guns piece, first responders need to still be able to do their jobs when the tech just up and stops working.

(Great, do you think I'll have to restart my shirt?)

Stay safe out there.

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