Smart Materials

1. Smart Materials Lesson objective – to understand that the development of smart materials allows the designer to meet a variety of user needs in new and exciting ways.

2. Do you know what smart materials are? Smart textiles must be comfortable, their technology must be unobtrusive, they must withstand a difficult and variable environment and, particularly for medical and emergency applications, they must be absolutely reliable. Smart materials respond to the environment in which they are being used. They will turn back to their original state once the environment changes again. Lesson objective – to understand that the development of smart materials allows the designer to meet a variety of user needs in new and exciting ways.

3. Do you know what smart materials are? • What is meant by the term ‘smart material’? • Name and describe, a product you are familiar with which uses a smart’ material • Choose a product that you are familiar with and suggest ways in which it could be improved with smart materials • There is growing demand for ‘intelligent fabrics’, what do you think this term means? Lesson objective – to understand that the development of smart materials allows the designer to meet a variety of user needs in new and exciting ways.

4. Intelligent fabrics Dow Corning's latest material news is called APS or Active Protection System, an "intelligent" fabric that consists of three-dimensional spacer textile treated with a specially formulated, responsive silicone coating. It remains soft and flexible under normal conditions. But when stressed under high-impact force, the material instantly becomes rigid, and then immediately returns to a flexible state. Lesson objective – to understand that the development of smart materials allows the designer to meet a variety of user needs in new and exciting ways.

5. iFabric.ID • All products marked with the distinctive iFabric.ID trademark are engineered to release a unique and eco-friendly vapour with a pleasant aroma, that will provide you with continuous protection against mosquitoes, midges, stable flies, ticks and other unwelcome insects. Lesson objective – to understand that the development of smart materials allows the designer to meet a variety of user needs in new and exciting ways.

6. "Exciting progress in the booming, intelligent clothing and textiles industry means mobile-phone shirts (just speak into the collar) and socks that mend themselves could soon be a reality. Lesson objective – to understand that the development of smart materials allows the designer to meet a variety of user needs in new and exciting ways.

7. smart clothing • In recent years, smart clothing has progressed significantly from wearable computers - where devices such as MP3 players or mobile phones are seamlessly integrated into clothing - to "intelligent" fabrics and clothes that can conduct electricity, change shape and even colour." Lesson objective – to understand that the development of smart materials allows the designer to meet a variety of user needs in new and exciting ways.

8. European researchers have developed a smart fabric that can monitor muscular overload and help prevent repetitive strain injury, or RSI. (Credit: Image courtesy of Biotex)