A single-fibre computer enables textile networks and distributed inference.

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrical Engineering
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Wearable technologies face challenges in persistent, distributed on-body computation.
• Existing systems are often limited by bulkiness, lack of flexibility, or washability.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel textile fiber computer for integrated on-body computation.
• To overcome limitations of current wearable electronics regarding flexibility, durability, and computational power.

Main Methods:

• Monolithic integration of analogue sensing, digital memory, processing, and communication into a single fiber.
• Utilizing a foldable interposer to map 2D microdevice layouts to 3D cylindrical fiber geometry.
• Thermally drawing microdevices into a machine-washable elastic fiber with helical copper microwire connections.
• Implementing wireless communication via woven optical links and seam-inserted radio-frequency (RF) communications.

Main Results:

• A lightweight (<5g) textile fiber computer capable of >60% stretch and machine washability.
• Independent edge computing capabilities integrated into various fabric structures (braided, woven, knitted).
• Demonstrated physical activity classification with 67% accuracy using individual fiber computers.
• Networked fiber computers achieved 95% accuracy in physical activity classification via weighted voting.

Conclusions:

• The developed textile fiber computer offers a versatile platform for persistent, distributed on-body computation.
• This technology overcomes key barriers in wearable electronics, enabling advanced functionalities in smart garments.
• Networked fiber computers significantly enhance accuracy for complex tasks like activity recognition.