Textile Insight

OmniFibre Gives a New Meaning for Breathability in Textiles. By Kathlyn Swantko mniFibre is a new reconfigu- rable fiber development currently being studied by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the MIT Media Lab at Sweden's Uppsala University, and the Swedish KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden. OmniFibre is a movement-based composite fiber technology that contains a fluid channel core, which can be activated to allow the fiber to act as an artificial muscle. This new fiber could be made into breath- regulating clothing to help train singers and athletes to better control their breathing, and also to potentially help patients recovering from post-surgery breathing changes. "Robotic" OmniFibre works when embed- ded stretchable sensors are applied onto elastomeric tubing by spray deposition or direct printing on the tubular surfaces. These sensors can detect and measure the degree the fibers are being stretched or compressed, which gives OmniFibre the capability for touch communication. When made into textiles for clothing, the garment can sense how much it is being stretched or compressed. Ultimately, this gives garment wearers the ability to alter their cloth- ing's behavior and provide immediate tactile-feedback in the form of pressure, lateral stretch, or vibration. To preserve the comfort of the knit or woven garment, OmniFibre can be integrated into certain parts of the garment, rather than into the whole garment. The multilayered OmniFiber's fluid center channel activates a fluidic system. This system controls the fibers' geometry by pressurizing and releasing a fluid medium (i.e., compressed air or water) into the channel, allowing the fiber to act as an artificial muscle. "Textiles offer a unique level of program- mability," explains Ozgun Kilic Afsar, a visiting doctoral student and research affiliate at MIT. "This has given our team the ability to modify the OmniFibre properties at several interde- pendent material levels, and engineer a soft fiber technology with ranked-structures for the fabrication pipeline. In our explorations, both weaving and knitting provided successful results to also achieve a mechanical swatch with closed-loop fibers." The team is developing the OmniFibre mechanical technology for appropriate end- use applications, and is working to scale the production of robotic fiber spools, which can be readily used on existing textile structuring machinery. The resulting composite fibers are thin and flexible enough to be sewn, woven, or knitted using standard commercial machines. Asfar explains that "the team's early gar- ment prototype is designed to have separate modules to monitor different respiratory muscle groups as the wearer inspires and expires, and can replay the individual motions to stimulate the acti- vation of each muscle group." Future for OmniFibre Research The team's OmniFibre technology is pat- ented and there are ongoing collaborations within the industry, from yarn to textile machinery manufacturers, and partners in the athletic apparel market. Asfar notes, "Before the commercialization of OmniFibre, we first need to succeed in scaling the pro- duction of continuous active fibers. There are also considerations and requirements for the sustainable adoption of robotic textiles in everyday textile interfaces (i.e. lowering production costs, the fiber's overall energy consumption, comfort of wear, washability, and recyclability)." The team's research has proven there is a promising future for utilizing this type of technology in everyday life for a variety of applications from implantable textiles and neuro-rehabilitative devices, to wearables for art and entertainment. Asfar adds, "Since touch is one of the most important ways to convey information, I see the biggest potential contribution of our work in the 'Internet of Senses' with technologies embedded in textiles." l O EDUCATION | MIT RESEARCH Advancing Robotic Fabrics This fully assembled OmniFibre sample features an inkay- knitted pleating robotic fabric. Kathlyn Swantko, president of the FabricLink Network, created www.TheTechnicalCenter.com for Industry networking and marketing of specialty textiles, and www.fabricklink.com for consumer education involving everything fabric. Contact: kgswantko@fabriclink.com 32 • Textile Insight ~ March/April 2022 textileinsight.com FabricLink.com TheTechnicalCenter.com "Thank you for all the support you have provided to Concept III over the years. You know how much we value it. Keep up the good work!" David Parkes President Concept III Textiles Why clients are excited about the benefits of The FabricLink Network Partnership Opportunities: Kristi Rummel kristi@rummelmedia.com 608.435.6220 Editorial Opportunities: Kathy Swantko kgswantko@fabricklink.com 818.345.7501 How will they find you, if you're not there? The FabricLink Network THE Networking / Education Search Engine for ALL Things Textile Related! FL-TTC-TI-2016-2_Layout 1 9/19/19 11:54 AM Page 1

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