Knitting and weaving artificial muscles could help create soft exoskeletons that people with
disabilities could wear under their clothes to help them walk, according to new research.
Textile processing is one of humanity's oldest technologies, but in recent years there has been renewed interest in using it to create "smart" textiles that can do everything from harvest power from the environment to monitor our health.
Now, Swedish researchers have created actuators — devices that convert energy into motion — from cellulose yarn coated with a polymer that reacts to electricity. These fibers were then woven and knitted using standard industrial machines to create textile actuators, dubbed "textuators" by the researchers. [Top 10 Inventions that Changed the World] https://www.livescience.com/57631-smart-exosuit-fabric-could-boost-mobility.html
