Photoreactive wearable: A computer generated garment with embedded material knowledge - A computer generated garment with embedded material knowledge

Abstract

Driven by technology, this multidisciplinary research focuses on the implementation of a photomechanical material into a reactive wearable that aims to protect the body from the ultraviolet radiation deriving from the sun. In this framework, the wearable becomes an active, supplemental skin that not only protects the human body but also augments its functions, such as movement and respiration. The embedded knowledge enables the smart material to sense and exchange data with the environment in order to passively actuate a system that regulates the relation between the body and its surroundings in an attempt to maintain equilibrium. The design strategy is defined by 4 sequential steps: a) The definition of the technical problem, b) the analysis of the human body, c) the design of the reactive material system, as well as d) the digital simulations and the digital fabrication of the system. The aforementioned design strategies allow for accuracy as well as high performance optimization and predictability in such complex design tasks, enabling the creation of customized products, designed for individuals.

High-Pressure Kinetics of Azo Dyes in Nematic Liquid Crystals

“…Azobenzenes are excellent photoactive molecules to modulate the properties of LCs on demand because of their clean and completely reversible trans – cis – trans isomerization. Indeed, the integration of azo dyes into host LCs of different nature has already allowed the access to a diversity of applications, from information and display technology to artificial actuation to intelligent wearables. − Generally, photo-irradiation with UV light transforms trans -azobenzenes into their metastable cis form; illumination with visible light or spontaneous thermal relaxation returns the system to its thermodynamically stable trans isomer . The lifetime of the cis form spans from several months (even years) to a few picoseconds, depending on the molecular structure of azobenzene; − furthermore, the solvent and general environment in which it is embedded also plays a determinant role. − Consequently, a complete understanding of the mechanism actuating for the thermal back reaction is crucial to control the rate of the process and, in turn, to design novel azobenzene-based photoactive liquid-crystalline materials with programmed properties and abilities.…”