Dressware: wearable hardware

Conventional fabrics coated with a thin conducting polymer layer are descri bed which possess remarkable properties of strain and temperature sensing. Sensing figures of merit are comparable to those of sensitive strain gauge materials and inorganic thermistors. Also, spun conductive polymer fibers s how electromechanical actuation. The isometric contractile stress of the ac tuating fibers is higher than skeletal muscle, between 1 and 15 times. The fabrication of active electronic and electromechanical systems onto substra tes which are not only flexible, but ideally conformable to the human body may represent a breakthrough in man-machine interface technology. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.