A team of researchers at the Hong Kong-based Laboratory for Artificial Intelligence in Design (AiDLab) has developed a new AI-driven textile technology that could be used to alter the colour of garments.
The fabric, which is knitted with a blend of textile yarns and polymeric optical fibres (POFs), can be illuminated in a range of different colours and, according to the research teams could potentially reduce clothing waste by giving people more colour choices from a single garment.
Noteworthy is that the POFs are made of polymethyl methacrylate, which, as well as being recyclable in its own right, can be easily separated from the structure of the textile allowing the whole garment to be recycled at the end of its use.
The fabric is also equipped with a tiny camera with colour changes triggered by simple hand gestures while colours can also be customised from an app with the AI algorithms helping the camera distinguish the gestures of individual users.
Professor Jeanne Tan, from Polytechnic University’s School of Fashion and Textiles part of the research team, said: “The hand-feel is just like any ordinary knitted fabric,” adding that the while still at the prototype stage, the team was confident that the technology could soon be commercialised.
Focusing on the integration of artificial intelligence, AiDLab was jointly established by the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and the Royal College of Art (RCA) in the UK, and is funded by the HKSAR Government under the InnoHK Research Clusters.
Located at the Hong Kong Science Park, it brings together a diverse mix of researchers and practitioners from its founding institutions to conduct research in three thematic programmes: ergonomic and inclusive design, innovation in product and service design, and intelligent fashion design and quality control.
