Engineers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), in collaboration with the Rhode Island School of Design, both in the United States, will develop a fabric capable of transforming mechanical vibrations into electrical signals.

The “acoustic fabric” is inspired by the mechanism of human hearing. We capture them through pressure waves that drive our eardrums mechanically and cause them to vibrate.

This vibration is transmitted to the internal ear through two ears and auditory chambers and the cochlea, which transforms this mechanical percussion into electrical signals, which are deciphered by the brain and viram or are what we know.

In a similar way, the engineers will develop fibers with piezoelectric properties, which make up a fabric of a fabric capable of capturing the vibrations of the environment, and transforming this disturbance into electrical signals.

Woven with piezoelectric fibers developed in the United StatesSource: MIT- Courtesy of Fink Lab

We tested, these fibers managed to capture sounds with different words, varying from silent environments, or with lots of noise, like a road with heavy traffic.

The results were positive and had been able to generate legitimate information that would vary according to the amplitude of what was captured, and more: the engineers reversed the process.

Recording some words, the engineers will transmit the signal for the fabric, which vibrated according to the information received, and was able to transmit the information to another frame, which managed to reconcile the information.

The researchers also used the weft as a shirt lining, and in this case, the fabric was capable of capturing the heart beat. Isso opens various uses for the medical world and for people who need continuous monitoring.

Even being subtle, the fibers will be able to capture cardiac beatSource: MIT – Courtesy of Fink Lab

For Wei Yan, who helped in the development of the fiber with piezoelectric properties in his post-doctorate at MIT “This fabric can interact imperceptibly with the human skin, allowing users to monitor their cardiac and respiratory conditions in a comfortable, continuous way, in real time is long term.”

There are also two uses for clothing, according to researchers, or fabric can also be used in ocean research, space and construction!