This technique differs from many current solutions to develop wearable electronics, which basically glue devices to fabrics. These methods are flawed in that they produce rigid textiles that are prone to malfunction and aren’t very comfortable to those wearing them, she said.

The new technique means that the fabrics can incorporate wearable displays in clothing without the need for electrodes, wires, or additional materials, Craciun noted. “For truly wearable electronic devices to be achieved, it is vital that the components are able to be incorporated within the material, and not simply added to it.”

Craciun’s team not only included researchers from the University of Exeter, but also the universities of Aveiro and Lisbon in Portugal and CenTexBel in Belgium. Researchers published a paper on their work in the Nature Journal Flexible Electronics.

Expanding Development

While wearable electronics and clothing with integrated electronic devices already exist, the researchers believe their invention can significantly expand the development of wearable electronic devices for everyday applications. They also can be used to diversify some of the devices already used in health monitoring, such as heart-rate, blood-pressure, and other diagnostic wearable devices.

Key to the design is graphene, which is the thinnest known substance for conducting electricity. Combining this with its inherent strength and flexibility makes it ideal for developing smart textiles, said Elias Torres Alonso, a research scientist at Graphenea and former PhD student on Craciun’s team at Exeter.

“This new research opens up the gateway for smart textiles to play a pivotal role in so many fields in the not-too-distant future,” he said. “By weaving the graphene fibers into the fabric, we have created a new technique to allow the full integration of electronics into textiles. The only limits from now are really within our own imagination.”