This Non-electronic Smart Hoodie Can Help Disabled Persons Move Comfortably

Joseph Henry, Tech Times 12 September 2022, 10:09 am

A smart jacket with no batteries or chips was brought to life by engineers from Harvard University and Rice University.

It might appear to be taken from a sci-fi film, but it's really operating thanks to its pneumatic circuits. This hoodie can help disabled wearers to move comfortably on their daily tasks.

This Jacket Operates With No Electronics

Per the researcher author Daniel Preston, many researchers have been exploring the capability of fluidic logic in elastomers. However, he said that no one has thought of incorporating it into clothes.

According to Hackster, the team succeeded in bringing "assistive garments" to the users. The technology relies on a push button which enables the hood to lower and raise instantly, thanks to the pneumatic actuators.

To give you an idea about the composition of the hoodie, you won't see any chips or an Arduino board installed here. Additionally, the batteries are absent in this smart jacket, as well.

It's kind of confusing to figure out how it works when in the first place, we don't know how it functions. Preston and his team used a nylon fabric and bound them until an image of an inflatable pouch was formed.

These pouches are connected to the product. Some buttons are used to inflate or deflate the airbag of a hoodie. The wearer can use it freely if he/she wants to lift or lower the hood.

At first, you might visualize that the hoodie resembles a car tire, but with the additional involvement of air-filled pouches.

In short, pressure plays an important role in allowing the air to circulate instead of the voltage produced by electronic transistors.

"The team's use of fabric and air-based logic, also known as pneumatic logic, is particularly novel. Wearables, like the Fitbit and Apple Watch, are usually "modest adaptations of traditional devices," Michael Wehner, a mechanical engineer from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said.

Assistive Garment Jacket Can Help PWDs

In another report by Wired, the research teams behind the logic-enabled textiles have visualized its help to persons with disabilities. According to them, this invention can aid PWDs in lifting a shirt and the hood with no issues at all.

Preston acknowledged that in the United States, 25% of the individuals reportedly have been experiencing difficulties lifting an object weighing 10 lbs.

Furthermore, he hopes that the prototype of the jacket will pass the clinical trials so it will be usable to the customers in the future.

Speaking of the tests, the researchers also need to know if it's safe enough for everyone, especially for people with medical conditions.

That's not all about it. The team envisions that the smart hoodie can add a temperature sensor and other health-related features in the next years to come.

Eight years ago, there was an interesting wearable that could save lives through gesture-making. The smart hoodie can reportedly send text messages, so if there's an emergency, you can ask for help from the authorities and other persons.