Smart clothing have been improved with technology to bring versatility beyond conventional use

By playing a pivotal role in the different divisions, Artificial Intelligence (AI) in fashion is transforming this industry. AI in fashion plays a major role in the transformation of this sector from design to production, logistical supply chain and marketing.

Manufacturers have explored many ways of incorporating new IoT technologies into their fashion designs over the years. Though high-tech clothing have been around for quite some time, in one form or the other, they didn't make their way until quite recently.

Smart clothing, also generally known as high-tech clothing, intelligent clothing, smart wear, electronic fabrics, smart textiles, e-textiles, monitor clothing, or smart fabrics, are pieces of clothing that have been improved with technology to bring versatility beyond conventional use.

Some smart clothes use innovative interlinked textiles, while others use sensors and external hardware to offer intelligent functionality. Using Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, many smart clothes can be attached to an app or program on a secondary machine. For example:

The Heddoko Garment 

Heddoko is the first organization to deliver a smart clothing to monitor your movements with embedded sensors. With Heddoko, movement is monitored in 3D and visual insight, and feedback is given to users through the connected mobile application.

Sensors for measuring the upper and lower arms, the top and lower legs, your chest, back and the stomach are provided with the Heddoko smart garment. The fabric is thin, and other sports apparel may be worn under it. The possibility is that it will change the game for wearable devices; and, in terms of understanding more about their actions, it could have a major effect on athletes going forward.

Smart Clothing Applications

Athletic wear/ Sportswear

In order to track their fitness and other aspects of health, athletes have long been using IoT accessories around their legs or arms. Smart clothing, however, will eradicate the need to wear additional smart devices on the body as they are engrained in their normal clothes. The comfort of sportswear can be further increased by smart clothes.

Defence and Military

Smart clothing IoT sensors can assess the presence and concentration of toxic gases in the atmosphere and enable the military to effectively minimize the harm posed by toxic fumes. Smart clothing can also recognize indications and amount of soldiers' loss of blood due to minor wounds and give medical practitioners details so that they can take meaningful measures.

Healthcare

Smart clothing can help keep track of the physical operations of a person and control vital levels, equivalent to other IoT devices. When people can proactively track and take care of their health themselves, wearing smart clothes can reduce the need for regular visits to doctors. During pregnancy, tracking sensors can also be advantageous.

With advantages come challenges. The problems of smart clothing technology include customer concerns such as the cost and quality of smart wear and technological problems such as volume and sophistication of unstructured data.  But, consumers would have to resolve a few concerns for wide adoption to occur.

Investor's Business Daily mentions that, "Google's Poupyrev believes smart clothing technology trends make "ubiquitous connectivity" an attractive feature for consumers, who might see connected clothing as a practical investment. And Loup's Clinton thinks that a decade from now smart apparel products will be "almost the standard."

"Over the next few years it will be more experimental, getting consumers comfortable with the idea of having smart apparel," Clinton said. "There's always a bridge where you have to integrate the consumer into the new world. But I think once people see the benefits of the clothes, the demand for them will be pretty significant."