MIT created the first fabrics that (secretly) listen – How they will work

Researchers at MIT University in the United States – including a Greek-American – have created the first microphones they can hear, thanks to special fibers capable of effectively detecting ambient sounds, from the loud ones on a busy road to the quiet sounds in in a library reading room.

The fabric is also capable of record the sounds which he heard and then reproduces them in the form of acoustic vibrations, which can now be heard by a second acoustic cloth. In this way, two such fabrics can communicate with each other.

Inspired by the complex system of hearing in the human ear, these fabrics can be used for two-way communication and for multiple practical applications e.g. in the field of security / espionage and biomedicine, such as for guided listening to a “target” or for monitoring the heartbeat of either a baby or an adult.

The researchers, who made the relevant publication in the journal «Nature», reported that the new flexible fabric that (secretly) listens, functions as a sensitive microphone. The technology draws inspiration from the complex structure of the ear, in which sound waves are converted by the eardrum membrane into mechanical vibrations and then travel to the cochlea, where they are converted into electrical signals. By the same token, the fabric has special piezoelectric fibers, which can first convert the pressure of sound waves into mechanical vibrations and then the latter into electrical signals.

One such thin fiber, reaching a length of 40 meters, Built-in fabric is capable of creating tens of square meters of “fabric” microphone capable of detecting weak acoustic signals, such as human speech. The fabric can be washed in the washing machine without any problem, which gives it extra potential for practical applications.

Researchers have already shown through experiments three such applications: the ability of the fabric-ear to detect the direction from which a sound such as clapping or a shot is heard, the facilitation of two-way communication between two hearing-impaired people wearing the fabric , as well as the monitoring of the heart, when this fabric touches the skin, so it “catches” its pulses.

“Wearing such an earpiece, one can talk through it to answer phone calls and communicate with others. “In addition, the fabric can be in direct contact with human skin, allowing anyone who wears it to monitor their heart and respiratory status in a comfortable and continuous manner in real time,” said lead researcher Wei Yang. “The fabric could also be integrated into buildings to detect cracks, to the outer surface of spacecraft to detect space dust, or to a smart net to track fish in the ocean. “The fabric opens up a wide range of opportunities,” he added.

The research team, which was funded by the U.S. Army Research Office because of the potential military applications of the new technology, also included Greek-American physics professor John Ioannopoulos, director since 2006 of the MIT Institute of Military Nanotechnology.

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