Your average T-shirt can’t do much more than make a fashion statement. But what if it could save your life?
Companies are weaving sensors right into the fabric of so-called smart clothes to monitor a variety of personal vital signs. In the past year alone, dozens of firms have jumped into the growing field. Shane Walker, an electronics analyst with research provider IHS, estimates that worldwide sales of smart clothes will jump to $605.9 million annually by 2014, up 34.5% from 2011.
Convenience is one reason sales are surging. “We didn’t want to create something where you had another gadget to keep track of,” explains Davide Vigano, CEO and co-founder of Heapsylon. His company developed a line of machine-washable fitness gear that monitors calorie burn, heart rate and breath rate, which goes on sale this month. The company is planning to market a $199 pair of socks next year that tracks running statistics like weight distribution and pace and then suggests via an iPhone app how to improve performance.
The most ambitious smart clothing aims to save lives. In September, Rest Devices, a company created by MIT grads, started selling Mimo, a $200 organic baby romper that monitors for warning signs of sudden infant death syndrome, sending an alert over wi-fi to parents’ phones. Another firm, First Warning Systems, is testing a sports bra that screens breast tissue for cancer. It could go on sale in the U.S. in 2015, pending regulatory approval.
There are limits to what smart clothes can do. Some researchers have expressed doubts about the accuracy and utility of the breast-cancer bra. Even if cancer is detected early, there isn’t much a doctor can do besides continuing to offer mammograms. CEO of First Warning Systems Rob Royea says the device is a supplement to, not a replacement for, medical care. Other vendors make similar disclaimers.
Then there’s the issue of persuading people to wear the stuff. Although the smart-clothes business is growing, it’s still just a fraction of all wearable tech–a sector that includes gadgets like the Nike FuelBand–which by 2014 will be worth $9.7 billion in worldwide sales annually. Still, Dulcie Madden, co-founder and CEO of Rest Devices, argues that “when they’re comfortable and usable and intuitive, [these garments] will make people’s lives easier.”
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Write to Eliana Dockterman at eliana.dockterman@time.com