Research

Researchers from the Vienna University of Technology have developed a tool that measures the amount of elastane present in a garment, paving the way for its segregation/removal from blended textiles, thus making a considerable number of textiles suitable for recycling.

Inspired by nature’s ability to construct a diverse array of functional materials, scientists at the University of Connecticut have developed a method to produce continuously tunable non-toxic materials.

In a potential game-changer for agriculture, Mississippi State University (MSU) scientists have developed a robot that works with camera-based perception system to identify and pluck one cotton boll at a time.

In a first for the world, Korean scientists have developed graphene-based, customised e-textiles that can be manufactured in an environmentally friendly manner, as neither the use of chemicals nor any additional processing is required.

Researchers at MIT have come up with FibeRobo, a fibre that can contract up to 40% without bending, actuate at skin-safe temperatures, and be produced with a low-cost setup for 20 cents per metre, which is about one-sixtieth times cheaper than commercially available shape-changing fibres.

China has employed a two-step mapping strategy—cropland mapping followed by cotton extraction—to produce 10m cotton maps of Xinjiang, its largest cotton production region.

Scientists have used a tiny nanofilament to break down two common dye pollutants under the visible light spectrum. The team used x-ray diffraction to characterise the arrangement of atoms in the nanomaterial. 

Deakin University in collaboration with innovation company Xefco has come up with a manufacturing solution that utilises an advanced plasma coating process which is completely water-free, producing no water discharge.

Fabric blends in clothing could soon be sorted easy if a proposal by a multi-disciplinary team of students to use an electron beam to segregate different fabric components through electrostatic separation finds takers.

Wearables designed by Rice University engineers co-opt haptics, or communication based on the sense of touch, that could soon help the hearing impaired, in navigation and even those with limited vision among several other tasks.