Australian scientists are developing clothes of the future that will act as exoskeletons to enhance strength and others that can recharge your MP3 player or mobile phone.
For instance, electronics could get recharged in the future simply by plugging them into your outerwear, because Australian researchers are designing clothing that can harvest energy from a person. The garments would incorporate devices to convert vibration energy from a person's movements into electricity. Advanced conductive fabrics would carry this energy to flexible batteries.
"It will look like an ordinary garment but have extraordinary capabilities," said Adam Best, principal research scientist with Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization's energy technology division. "This kind of technology has important applications for soldiers in the field and could mean they no longer need to carry heavy batteries. Essentially, they'd be wearing the battery, not carrying it."
Advanced materials could also help serve as armor. For instance, future yarns made with carbon nanofibers could yield bulletproof uniforms stronger than Kevlar,complex compounds could lead to soft helmets that turn hard in a crash, and robotic exoskeletons could help soldiers shoulder heavy packs and help people walk.
These garments could also have civilian applications, such as powering radios, mobile phones, MP3 players or medical devices such as vital-sign monitoring systems. Solar-powered handbags could accomplish the same thing for women. Not all the potential fabrics of tomorrow are high-tech. For instance, chicken feathers, rice straw and other castoffs of the farming industry could get transformed into fabrics resembling wool, linen or cotton, helping reduce the use of petroleum-based synthetic fabrics such as polyester.
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