Scientists mine the rich seam of body wearable motion sensors

A garment sewn with conductive yarn, with seams connected by wire to a microcontroller. Credit: Olivia Ruston - A new study from the University of Bath finds that conductive seams, when strategically placed in clothing, can accurately track body motion. Last updated on Friday 2 July 2021 - When positioned strategically, garment seams sewn with conductive yarn can be used to accurately track body motion, according to computer scientists at the University of Bath. Best of all, these charged seams are able to respond to subtle movements that aren't picked up by popular fitness trackers, such as watches and wristbands. In a new study, the Bath researchers found that clothing made with conductive seams can be analysed to identify the wearer's movements. Engineering Doctorate (EngD) student Olivia Ruston , who presented the work at the ACM Designing Interactive Systems conference this month, said: "There are lots of potential applications for conductive yarn in any activity where you want to identify and improve the quality of a person's movement. This could be very helpful in physiotherapy, rehabilitation, and sports performance." Groups of scientists have been creating flexible, textile sensors for garments for some time, but the Bath project is the first where researchers have experimented with the location and concentration of conductive seams.