A technicolour dreamcoat may be the next big thing in electronic communications. 

Researchers have developed flexible but durable electronic textile fabrics that can interact with a smartphone. 

The project by Australian and international engineers has led to the development of an electronic textile with a large-area display that could have applications in communications, navigation and healthcare. 

Creating large displays integrated with functional systems that are flexible and durable when worn has been challenging. Conventional solid-state display materials are not readily compatible with textiles because they struggle to withstand the natural deformation that occurs when fabrics are worn and washed. 

The new design weaves conductive fibres and luminescent fibres together with cotton into a fabric display.

Researchers have produced a display fabric that is 6 metres long and 25 centimetres wide that can be integrated with a touch-sensitive fabric keyboard and a fabric power supply (in this case, one that harvests solar energy). 

They have demonstrated various applications for the fabric, such as a navigation tool that displays an interactive map or a communications tool that can send or retrieve messages via a Bluetooth connection with a smartphone. 

The display is produced by illuminating units (electroluminescent units) that form where the conductive fibres and luminescent fibres meet at contact points in the woven fabric. 

After 1,000 cycles of bending, stretching and pressing, the performance of the vast majority of electroluminescent units remained stable. 

In addition, the brightness of the electroluminescent units remained stable after 100 cycles of washing and drying. 

With the integration of more functionality, the authors expect these ‘smart textiles’ to shape the next generation of electronic communication tools.

More technical details are accessible here.