The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) has developed soft magnetorheological textiles that could be widely applicable in smart wearables in future.

 

PolyU explains its research has successfully overcome the two major drawbacks of traditional magnetorheological materials – heavy magnetic powders and the potential health risks posed by high-strength magnetic fields to the human body.

These new soft magnetorheological textiles can flexibly deform and modulate their mechanical properties under a human-safe magnetic field. They are driven by electricity and programmable control and combine lightweight, flexible and breathable textile characteristics.

Professor TAO Xiaoming, director of the PolyU Research Institute for Intelligent Wearable Systems, Vincent and Lily Woo Professor in Textiles Technology and Chair Professor of Textile Technology of the School of Fashion and Textiles, who led the research explained: β€œThe core objective of our research team is to overcome the application limits of traditional magnetorheological technology, extending it to fibre form, and enabling precise intelligent modulation while remaining compatible with textile properties such as softness and breathability.”

 

The researchers noted that unlike traditional smart materials that respond to scalar stimuli such as voltage, current or temperature, these in-house-developed magnetorheological textiles offer unique directionally controllable responses, enabling the development of the following three innovative fabric materials:

  • Flexible smart gripper
  • Remote emulation haptic finger glove
  • Active ventilation and thermal-regulation fabrics.

Professor Tao said: β€œThe key breakthrough of this research lies in converting traditional rigid magnetic devices into flexible alternatives. This success can be extended to the development of hard magnetic fibre materials, laying a foundation for the next generation of soft robotics, electromagnetic devices and wearable technologies.”