Using fabric that changes color, Hong Kong AI lab hopes to cut down on wasteful apparel

In a groundbreaking development, a research team has created a color-changing textile using a tiny embedded camera and artificial intelligence, allowing simple gestures to alter the fabric's color. The Hong Kong-based Laboratory for Artificial Intelligence in Design (AiDLab) envisions this technology as a means to reduce waste by offering more color choices for clothing items.

The fabric is knitted with polymeric optical fibers (POFs) and textile-based yarns, enabling it to illuminate in various hues. Gestures such as a thumbs-up trigger deep blue, a heart sign turns it pink, and an 'OK' sign changes it to green. Users can also customize colors through a phone app, and AI algorithms assist the camera in recognizing individual users' gestures.

Professor Jeanne Tan, leading the research team at Polytechnic University's School of Fashion and Textiles, highlights that the POFs are made of recyclable polymethyl methacrylate. The textile's structure allows easy separation of POFs from yarns for recycling, and the fabric retains a soft feel similar to ordinary knitted fabric. AiDLab envisions commercializing this technology, which is currently showcased in installations at various locations in Hong Kong, including shopping malls.