The Tangible Media Group has created a completely new form of performance fabric that combines biomaterials research with textile design. This is made possible by imagining a world where actuators and sensors can be grown rather than manufactured, being derived from nature as opposed to engineered in factories.

Bacteria is embedded into fabric to ventilate garments. In the natural world there are a lot of smart materials that are naturally responsive. They are very sensitive to even tiny changes in the skin condition. So the researchers thought an on-skin transformable textile would be a really interesting application.

The synthetic bio-skin reacts to body heat and sweat, causing flaps around heat zones to open, enabling sweat to evaporate and cool down the body through an organic material flux. The garment becomes an interface that can communicate with the body. This garment senses and opens up to release sweat, and closes up to keep the body warm again.

While this project appeals to fashion designers and those creating athletic attire, the Tangible Media group focuses on diverse actuated materials. It is interested in materials that artists and designers would use to express their ideas. This project is aligned perfectly with the group’s vision of human interaction with future dynamic materials. The general idea is not only how we can be inspired by nature, but how we can collaborate with nature.

tangible.media.mit.edu/