The wearable technology has yet again taken a tremendous leap as researchers from the National University of Singapore have developed a smart suit capable of running on electromagnetic signals from a smartphone.

Sources cite that suit is the next-gen technology for athletes as it has no batteries and can be used outdoors, allowing users to track performance in real-time with multiple sensors. For power, the suit comprises web-like threads to relay signals from a smartphone to the body which can work up to 1 meter.

At present, the prototype houses six sensors per smartphone and collects data like spinal posture, running gait, and body temperature. Its other potential applications include clinical diagnosis of spinal disorder and 24/7 health monitoring.

NUS Institute of Health Innovation and Technology has been developing a suit for about two years. Last year, in research finding, the team found out that it was possible to direct a smartphone’s communication signals to the different body part locations using specially designed patterns.

NUS, in its press release, deemed the current wearable technology to be ‘bulky.’ It said that the current monitoring technology for wearables fitness trackers only collects data from a single point. It cited the ‘ideal’ method of collecting data from multiple sensors on the users’ body in an outdoor environment while keeping the ‘bulky’ attributes to a minimum.

Assistant Professor John Ho, who led the NUS team, cited the technology to be a major breakthrough and highlighted the fact that smartphones, the handheld device works well with the suit, acting both as the power supply and the display to overlay information.

The researchers seek to develop more new sensors for the suit to collect a wide range of data, all the while working with athletes to help them monitor their psychological signals during training.

Source credit - https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/nus-research-smart-suit-athlete-performance-physiological-data-13129152