With colour-changing fabric, Hong Kong AI lab aims to reduce clothing waste

Reuters

Simple gestures could be all it takes to alter the colour of your clothes in the future, according to a research team that has developed a colour-changing textile embedded with a tiny camera and making use of artificial intelligence.

The technology could help reduce waste by giving people more colour choices for an item of clothing, says Hong Kong-based Laboratory for Artificial Intelligence in Design (AiDLab).

The fabric, which is knitted with polymeric optical fibres (POFs) and textile-based yarns, can be illuminated in a range of different hues.

A thumbs-up in front of the fabric triggers deep blue, a heart sign will turn it pink while an 'OK' sign will turn it green.

Colours can also be customised from an app on a phone and AI algorithms help the camera distinguish the gestures of individual users.

Professor Jeanne Tan, who works at Polytechnic University's School of Fashion and Textiles and heads the research team, notes the POFs are made of polymethyl methacrylate which is recyclable and the structure of the textile enables easy separation of POFs from yarns for recycling.

The fabric is also soft.

"The hand-feel is just like any ordinary knitted fabric," she said.

AiDLab hopes that the technology will one day be commercialised. It's currently on display in installations at shopping malls and other locations in Hong Kong.

More from Quirky

On Virgin Radio today

  • The Night Show with Jacob Cummings

    7:00pm - 10:00pm

    End the day with Virgin Radio turned loud.

  • Adam Eddine

    10:00pm - Midnight

    Up late with a ton of Hit Music

Trending on Virgin Radio

  • The Rock and Chris Evans: A Christmas Surprise!

    The Rock and Chris Evans: A Christmas Surprise!

  • Middle East Hot 30

    Every weekend Kris Fade plays the biggest tracks in the Middle East. Check out this weeks chart...

  • Bassem Youssef

    One of the most talked about comedians in the world takes over The Kris Fade Show. Watch the full interview here...

  • ARN News Centre

    Get the latest UAE and world news from our award winning team of journalists. The ARN News Centre is the country's most trusted source of information.