Mfarhanonline Social Media News: British military uniforms may soon be made out of yarn that can transfer electricity and data, eliminating the need for toting around additional batteries and cabling. The intelligent fabric was recently shown-off by Intelligent Textiles in the form of a lightweight military uniform. In the demo, the fabric was integrated into the uniform’s vest, shirt, helmet, and backpack, as well as into the glove and weapons platform. The tech would have soldiers charge one single battery, and then have the power from that battery sent through clothing to where it needs to be. The fabric is not only capable of transmitting electricity, it can also transmit data. Clothing made out of the fabric could ultimately become a "wearable computer." Intelligent Textiles is currently working on a machine with a fabric keyboard to be used alongside the clothing in order to add that functionality. Along with lessening the load soldiers have to carry around, ultimately the tech could help eliminate some of the power and data issues they face out in the field. “One of the problems with conventional cables is that breakages can be catastrophic. Asha Thompson, director of Intelligent Textiles, said in an interview with BBC News . "What we do here is build in redundancy, so that if the fabric gets cut, damaged or torn, we still have a way of re-routing the data.” The company has plans to field test the fabric in May. Limited use could come by the end of the year, and ultimately widespread use of the fabric might happen by 2014 or 2015. What do you think about the use of e-textiles? Would you be interested in an outfit that could conduct power? More About: e-textile , military , textile For more Tech coverage: Follow Mfarhanonline Tech on Twitter Become a Fan on Facebook Subscribe to the Tech channel Download our free apps for Android! , Mac , iPhone and iPad Social Media reviews series maintain by Mayya
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