Shape-shifting fiber can produce morphing fabrics

A team of researchers at MIT and elsewhere have developed a low-cost fiber, compatible with existing textile manufacturing techniques that contracts in response to an increase in temperature, then self-reverses when the temperature decreases, without any embedded sensors or other hard components. Sarah Nicita produced woven samples shown in the video. (Learn more: news.mit.edu/2023/shape-shifti...)
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[@ThexBorg]

Next step is electroactive polymers that contract when an electrical current is applied...and there you have synthetic muscles.

[@nancymathisen9707]

This story begs the question, “is there an application for which this product is being developed, or will its application become known only after it becomes available?”. Would it be used as shade cloth in greenhouses or window shades?

[@amyprecociouslake4806]

Warfare. Spies. Espionage. Corporate spying. Just the other day at a restaurant in Philly...I swear the ficus was...,a spy.

[@user-jo1hn5pg5l]

I’m thinking if you combine this with biomimicry you can have a spring or fall top that when you get warm enough openings/holes/pores/stomata open to release the heat and moisture. Or to make it a little more 3d a winter coat with pieces of fabric like scales opening up like a pine-cone. Or to make it even more 3d, a fabric that folds itself into intricate pleats and tessellation origami. I don’t know what that could be for but it would be very pretty hehe… so I guess for fashion. Come to think of it you don't even need to create the thread you can just screen print the thread directly onto fabric. Some textile designers screen print latex onto stretched out fabric to create interesting textures. Or even 3d print onto fabric which is something some textile creators have been experimenting with the last few years.

[@reesemartens759]

Using biomimicry and LCEs (the material these fibers are made from) is actually one of the main fields in this research. If you're interested there are plenty of researchers working on this in the MIT-Harvard sphere. Jennifer Lewis has worked on 3D printing these materials in the past, while Katia Bertoldi has worked on origami like materials and incorporating LCEs into them.

[@user-jo1hn5pg5l]

@@reesemartens759 great info. Thank you.

[@Delosian]

What we need is a fabric that closes the gaps when cold and expands the gaps when hot, that way the fabric adjusts to internal and external temperatures to keep a person at a certain temperature.

[@520worldwide]

would love to wear something like that

[@K-FOREST_Original]

Hello? It's already November again this year, and it's already Friday evening this week. I hope you have good health and good things with you for the remaining week as well. I always support your beautiful/charming activities. ^^

[@93VIDEO]

There may be applications for firefighters' clothing ?

[@ardakoyuncu5985]

This would be very useful.

[@Pasu4]

I'm not sure how that would help. LCPs are typically resistant to flames and chemicals, but I think the constriction of the fibers would be more obstructive than useful to firefighters.

[@olorin4317]

The hot air balloon industry will never be the same.

[@Lilybet1316]

Are there practical applications for humanity? Sealing wounds, integrating into roadways so they flex and not crack?

[@robertsnickle2823]

Hot...loose top. Cold...snug top.

[@sedenions]

Functional smart materials-- that's cool. What is the value of Gucci or Bottega vs a hyper-functional Fruit of the Loom? How about a hyper-functional Bottega?

[@amyprecociouslake4806]

😂😂😂🎉

[@imWillJ]

and this is how Aladdin's carpet was born.

[@Progressive_Canadian]

He says it changes shape silently? Well that's good i'm really getting sick and tired of my fabric making loud sounds as it changes shape! 😏

[@tbdcobra9201]

So if you are wearing underwear made of this fabric does it contract when you fart?

[@amyprecociouslake4806]

FYI.. I need a flashdrive...password key. Questionaire....unique answers. The real password I put on my tablet. I forget my password but if I had a key... flashdrive that would give me security. 😎🤔🙃😎

[@amyprecociouslake4806]

A thumb drive pass protection? Sure. If u build it they will buy it. Make it cheap. Or Japan will snap this idea up.