Wearable research has advanced along two tracks: smart textiles that embed sensing and data routing in garments, and epidermal devices that use the skin for feedback and monitoring. At Georgia Tech, early work on a ‘wearable motherboard’ shirt showed how fabric threads can carry signals from multiple sensors. Parallel projects now develop haptic patches and skin sensors for navigation, balance support and wound monitoring in hospital and rehabilitation contexts.
- Engineers wove fibre optics and sensor connections into a shirt for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), aiming to detect gunshot wounds and vital signs for rapid battlefield triage.
- Textile sensors are being applied to pressure and moisture monitoring for hospital patients and wheelchair users, including prototypes that help relieve contact-point pressure automatically.
- Epidermal systems use arrays of tiny actuators to poke, vibrate or twist, translating camera or insole data into tactile cues that aid navigation and gait.
THE EARLY BREAKTHROUGH: Early smart textile research reframed clothing as an information-processing system rather than a passive material. Engineers developed a sleeveless shirt that integrated fibre optics directly into fabric, allowing multiple sensors to connect without external hardware. Conceived for battlefield use, the garment prioritised comfort, flexibility and rapid data transmission. Its loom-based construction demonstrated that complex electronic textiles could be produced consistently at scale.
- The shirt functioned as a “wearable motherboard”, routing signals through fabric threads in a way comparable to data buses on a computer board.
- Researchers designed the garment in response to a military call to improve rapid injury assessment during combat situations.
- Embedding sensing capability into clothing removed the need for additional devices carried by soldiers.
- Fibre-optic integration enabled detection of vital signs and potential gunshot wounds within a single textile platform.
- The project advanced a core paradigm in which fabric itself functions as the computer, not merely a carrier for electronics.
FROM GARMENTS TO CARE: Building on early smart textile principles, researchers extended garment-based sensing into hospital and rehabilitation environments. Fabrics were engineered to detect pressure and moisture experienced by people in wheelchairs or hospital beds, translating continuous contact data into actionable insights. These systems aimed to prevent pressure injuries through earlier intervention and, in some cases, automated response. The work demonstrated how everyday clothing and soft furnishings could function as monitoring tools without compromising comfort or mobility.
- Pressure- and moisture-sensing textiles were designed to help caregivers reposition patients before prolonged contact leads to skin damage.
- Prototype systems linked fabric sensors to automated mechanisms that relieve pressure at key contact points.
- Researchers developed textile-based solutions suitable for long-term use in hospital and home-care environments.
- Soft, breathable fabric sensors were integrated into knit caps to collect EEG data from infants more safely.
- Garment-based sensing concepts were also explored for older adults, with the aim of identifying movement patterns linked to falls.
SKIN AS INTERFACE: Alongside garment-based systems, researchers explored the skin itself as a communication and sensing surface. Described by researchers as “epidermal virtual reality”, this work used small wearable devices to deliver tactile cues through vibration, indentation and twisting. These epidermal interfaces translated environmental or bodily data into physical sensations, enabling navigation, balance support and health monitoring. The approach positioned skin as an underused but highly expressive human–machine interface.
- Arrays of miniature actuators provided spatial cues on the body, using data from smartphone cameras and LiDAR sensors to help users with vision loss detect nearby objects through patterned vibrations.
- Combining multiple tactile signals, such as torsion and indentation, made navigation feedback more intuitive and efficient.
- Haptic systems were paired with shoe insoles to relay foot-pressure information to the forearm, supporting gait and balance rehabilitation.
- Researchers demonstrated that these devices could operate without large batteries or wired power sources.
- Additional epidermal sensors measured gas exchange across the skin, offering early indicators of wound healing problems in people with diabetes.
WHAT THEY SAID
What we have is all these nice data buses that are the fabric threads. And we can connect any kind of sensors to them. We were able to route information in a fabric for the first time, just like a typical computer motherboard. … We are still able to use that fundamental breakthrough, looking at fabric as an information infrastructure or a computer, and using it for different applications.
— Sundaresan Jayaraman
Professor
Georgia Institute of Technology
An EEG cap has a lot of sensors with thick wires. Those wires can cause pressure injuries for a baby. There’s also risk of the baby getting tangled in those wires. We are trying to put all those things into a knit cap to collect the EEG data.
— Sungmee Park
Principal Research Scientist
Georgia Institute of Technology
Our skin is our largest organ, and we have sensory receptors across the entire surface. It’s really underutilized as a human–machine interface. We can use haptics to deliver information to our body. We can also get a lot of information from our skin.
— Matthew Flavin
Assistant Professor
Georgia Institute of Technology
