Smart fabrics can be manufactured from a wide range of materials and aim to provide added value with regards to safety, comfort or performance, especially enhancing athletic performance. Smart fabrics can include electrical conductivity, which ensures the technology can be powered while allowing them to be washed in the same manner as traditional fabrics. Smart fabrics are already being used in a broad range of potential medical, military, biomedical and athletic applications.
Smart fabrics can include materials and structures that respond to chemical, mechanical, electrical, optical and magnetic stimuli and may also include digital components such as a battery, a sensor, an LED, or an embedded electronic chip. Smart fabrics can, therefore, focus on enhancing performance, such as regulating body temperature and perspiration, monitoring breathing and heart rate, and controlling muscle vibration. Some simpler versions of these types of fabrics already exist, from compression materials to speed athletic recovery to materials that help wick perspiration from an athlete or reduce wind resistance. The importance of the development and protection of smart fabric technology is no more apparent than in the recent case between Peloton and Lululemon, which involves design patents and trade dress rights.
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