Smarty Pants: Hi Tech Tighty Whities
By Diana Cook
Brainy underwear – another thing smarter than you. Developed by nano-engineering professor Joseph Wang of University of California San Diego these “smart panties” break new ground in the field of intelligent textiles. By using a method similar to old fashioned screen-printing but with ink containing carbon electrodes the waistband elastic works as an electronic bio-sensor, designed to measure blood pressure, heart rate and other vital signs.
Because the sensors are actually in the ink and can be applied to an item that is familiar and sits right against your skin there is no discomfort. The project is being funded by the U.S. military with American troops likely to be the first recipients. “This specific project involves monitoring the injury of soldiers during battlefield surgery and the goal is to develop minimally invasive sensors that can locate, in the field, and identify the type of injury,” Wang told Reuters Television.
But the range of applications is sure to go beyond outfitting soldiers. No word yet when the first pair will go into production – so we can only speculate on what the applications will be for the first pair of high tech thong panties.
