Intelligent fibres part of the fabric of modern military life

Professor Javad Foroughi is developing fibres that can be embedded in clothing to allow real-time communication systems.

Professor Javad Foroughi

When legendary fashion photographer Bill Cunningham said that “fashion is the armour to survive the reality of everyday life”, he did not have in mind new generation fabrics and textiles that are literally being adapted as part of the modern military machine.

Professor Javad Foroughi from the University of Wollongong’s Intelligent Polymer Research Institute is developing fibres that can be embedded in clothing to allow real-time communication systems for personnel in hazardous situations, as well as the ability to track and monitor their location and health condition, such as blood pressure and temperature.

“Our aim was to create a smart garment for monitoring and tracking. It means adding small fibres weighing less than
5 per cent of the total weight of the garment,” he says.

Without a battery, GPS or Wi-Fi, the garment is designed to harvest energy from a probing signal and then send back relevant information using this energy.

He says this information can monitor and track the status and distribution of defence personnel in locations where GPS or traditional location-based systems do not operate.

Professor Foroughi worked with Mittagong-based company Bluey Merino to develop a way of tracking the provenance of the fibre in their fabrics. This research led to his work on smart garments with body sensing capabilities that have applications for people working in mining, healthcare and aged care and elite athletes.