Japanese mobile carrier NTT Docomo and materials developer Toray have been working on joint projects and have now announced one called Hitoe, which means ‘one layer’ in Japanese.

It is a cloth that contains Toray's nanofibres that are coated in a transmittable layer. It is a nicotine-patch sized square you attach to it that does the sensing.

Measuring heartbeat

Placing two of these on the body will make them act as electrodes, measuring your heartbeat and offering metrics resembling a cardiogram.

The plan is to connect this non-invasive health monitor to NTT Docomo's health application platform that already exists on its smartphones, developing practical hardware for sale alongside it.

Practical

The technology is not only designed for sportswear, the developers report, as small hats, pyjamas and other sleepwear are also planned for launch.

According to the company, the sensors must survive tumbles in the washing machine and are suitably lightweight and flexible. The next step now is reducing the size of the sensor.

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