MIT News recently reported on programmable computing fabric technology anticipated to revolutionize military performance, physiology, and everyday life. This technology will allow everyday apparel to access healthcare and safety services.
According to MIT, new fiber computers built in the Fibers lab at MIT’s Research Laboratory of Electronics are expected to pave the way for future physiological “digital twinning” models.
The research could be integrated with artificial intelligence (AI) systems using predictive physiological models and tools to enhance survivability in challenging environments.
U.S. Army and Navy service members and DARPA are the first to test a fiber computer developed at MIT’s Fiber lab in a significant real-world scenario.
The military team was expected to cover 1,000 kilometers during a 30-day trek while dressed in fiber computers embedded in traditional fibers and fabrics such as polyester, merino wool, nylon, and silk.
Besides gathering data on the human body through sensors, each fiber computer includes LEDs and light sensors that allow multiple fibers within a garment to communicate, forming a textile network capable of computation.
Each fiber computer is also equipped with a Bluetooth communication system, which wirelessly transmits data to a device, such as a smartphone, for user access.
The fiber computers aim to provide real-time information on the health and activity of individuals participating in the mission.
Several organizations, including the U.S. Army Research Office Institute for Soldier Nanotechnology, the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency, the U.S. National Science Foundation, the Fannie and John Hertz Foundation Fellowship, the Paul and Daisy Soros Foundation Fellowship for New Americans, the Stanford-Knight Hennessy Scholars Program, and the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation support the study.
Researchers from the Rhode Island School of Design, Brown University, Stanford, MIT’s Research Laboratory of Electronics, and the Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies collaborated in designing these fabric computers.
The researchers emphasize that fabrics and apparel present a unique opportunity to measure and understand human physiology and health.
Clothing embedded with sensors, a microcontroller, digital memory, Bluetooth modules, optical communications, and a battery in elastic fibers can monitor health conditions and physical activity, alerting the wearer to potential health risks in real time.
In their experiments, the researchers integrated four fiber computers into a top and a pair of leggings, with fibers running along each limb.
Each programmable fiber computer was equipped with a machine-learning model trained to autonomously recognize exercises performed by the wearer, achieving an average accuracy of about 70%.
Remarkably, when the fiber computers were allowed to communicate with one another, their overall accuracy rose to nearly 95%.
MIT scientists have discovered that our bodies emit gigabytes of data through the skin every second via heat, sound, biochemicals, electrical potentials, and light, conveying information about our activities, emotions, and health.
Unfortunately, most of this data gets absorbed and lost within our clothing. Could this research enable garments to capture, analyze, store, and communicate this crucial information, leading to valuable health and activity insights?
MIT is actively exploring the future of this technology through research and field testing, including a course in the MIT Department of Materials Science and Engineering titled “Computing Fabrics,” taught by a professor from the Rhode Island School of Design.
Researchers including DMSE’s Prof. Yoel Fink and grad student Nikhil Gupta developed an autonomous programmable computer in the form of an elastic fiber that can monitor health conditions and physical activity in real-time. Read more in @Nature: https://t.co/Ny4hTE0RrR pic.twitter.com/hiIB6qBzSR
— DMSE at MIT (@mit_dmse) March 13, 2025
“This class is preparing students to be able to combine the world of aesthetics—specifically, expressive fabric construction and design—and the world of devices and computation,” says DMSE’s Yoel Fink, who teaches MIT and RISD students. Watch the video: https://t.co/DqgR3dxLMI pic.twitter.com/9DJV7tmaK5
— DMSE at MIT (@mit_dmse) June 4, 2022
Interested in the intersection of technology and fabric? Grab tickets to the May 21 Arts and Lecture Series talk by MIT's Yoel Fink: "Fabrics: The New Software." https://t.co/KinmAsCZbh pic.twitter.com/z9tACE4cHb
— Fermilab (@Fermilab) May 14, 2021
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