AiDLab, a company established in Hong Kong, has introduced a novel kind of color-changing fabric, which according to the developer, not only looks fancy but also should contribute to the reduction of clothing waste.
Smart color-changing AI-enabled textile from AiDLab. Image credit: AiDLab
The news was announced by the research team at the Laboratory for Artificial Intelligence in Design (AiDLab). Their latest product – a color-changing textile – uses artificial intelligence coupled with the visual feedback from a tiny camera.
The fabric itself is knitted using a combination of polymeric optical fibers (POFs) and textile-based yarns. It can change color based on a user’s gestures. The fabric itself is soft like most commercial textiles.
For example, when the user shows a thumbs-up as a trigger, the color changes to deep blue. A heart sign shown in front of the fabric will change color to pink, while ‘OK’ sign changes it to green. The combinations of gestures and colors will likely be customizable according to the owner’s preferences.
The company says that the technology aims to reduce clothing waste by offering more color choices for an item of clothing.
The optical fibers used in the fabric are made of recyclable polymethyl methacrylate, and the textile structure facilitates easy separation for recycling. AiDLab hopes to commercialize the technology in the future.
Written by Alius Noreika