Thursday, January 20, 2011

NYU duo create high-tech sweatshirts that detect pollution

Two NYU grad students have created high-tech sweatshirts that change color when exposed to pollution.

Nien Lam and Sue Ngo created the sweatshirt, which is emblazoned with pink lungs that suddenly show blue veins when exposed to dirty air, during a class on wearable technologies in the interactive telecommunications program at Tisch School of the Arts.

A dime-sized carbon monoxide sensor attached to the sweatshirt detects pollution from cars, factories, and even second-hand smoke.

It sits on a micro-controller programmed to send electrical currents through the shirt, warming wires that run under the lungs - or on some shirts, a heart. Because the organs are made of thermochromic fabric that changes color dramatically when heated, blue veins become visible when the sensor finds toxins in the air.

-SIFY

For the full story: www.sify.com

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