Microchip technology used in textile materials

The combination of electrical functionality and textiles has a long history. An electric corset from the 19th century promised rather dubious health benefits for ladies. A patent from 1911 describes some electrically heated gloves for “drivers of aeroplanes, automobiles, motor boats, and other conveyances which are guided by manually operated steering wheels.” Electric blankets began to have commercial success starting from the late 1930s. During the last three decades, there has been considerable interest in more sophisticated technologies and new generations of modern electronic textiles can be identified. The history of electric and electronic textiles will be briefly reviewed and the latest developments in the creation of a new generation of yarns integrated with semiconductor microchips within the fibers of yarns will be described.