New Smart Textile is the Muscle behind Next Generation Devices From: Medical Design Technology - 10/17/2016 Researchers have for the first time, developed a smart textile from carbon nanotube and spandex fibres that can both sense and move in response to a stimulus like a muscle or joint. Lead researcher Dr Javad Foroughi from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science (ACES) explains that the key difference between this, and previous ACES work, is the textile's dual functionality. "We have already made intelligent materials as sensors and integrated them into devices such as a knee sleeve that can be used to monitor the movement of the joint, providing valuable data that can be used to create a personalised training or rehabilitation program for the wearer," Dr Foroughi said. "Our recent work allowed us to develop smart clothing that simultaneously monitors the wearer's movements, senses strain, and adjusts the garment to support or correct the movement," he said. The smart textile, which is easily scalable for the fabrication of industrial quantities, generates a mechanical work capacity and a power output which higher than that produced by human muscles. Read the entire article at: https://www.mdtmag.com/news/2016/10/new-smart-textile-muscle-behind-next-generation-devices Links: New smart textile is the muscle behind next generation devices http://www.electromaterials.edu.au/news/new-smart-textile-is-the-muscle-behind-next-generation-devices Javad Foroughi http://ipri.uow.edu.au/researchfellows/UOW094014.html Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science http://www.electromaterials.edu.au