Connected clothing: a possible future

At Manelli , we care about your well-being, which is why Manelli is interested in the best products and services available so that we can offer them to you.

We live in a constantly evolving world: phones, the internet, watches, cars… All these technologies are not immune to change, whether we are more or less vigilant. But have we also noticed that these changes affect all sectors? Including the workwear sector, which has understood that, for the benefit of employees, connected clothing could be a significant advancement in daily human resource management.

That's why today, more and more textile companies are entering this market. Indeed, smart clothing will allow companies to better equip their employees and thus improve their working conditions.
Consider, for example, workers operating machinery such as cranes and excavators, whose performance level largely depends on fatigue. A suit equipped with sensors would therefore allow for monitoring their fatigue level, stress levels, and body temperature, thus alerting those responsible for monitoring these factors and potentially improving the worker's working conditions.

The example of connected tank tops

 Source: Lecoinforme.com

In the image above, the device is quite clear: Numerous sensors relating to different sensations are placed in the garment in strategic locations in order to capture a given sensation (such as heart rate, breathing rate, etc.) but also many others.

Indeed, by placing different sensors, these devices can send various pieces of information to an application or computer to enable monitoring. By allowing this type of monitoring, the sensors could help raise awareness in general, thereby improving daily working conditions and enabling everyone to thrive.

Furthermore, among the companies already working on this concept of connected clothing, some are trying to expand even further into security-related markets: police, military, and firefighters. These sectors may therefore see technological advancements within their equipment, potentially making this type of worker even more effective.

Take, for example, the SolePower shoes (image below), a model designed for industrial environments: connected sensors for temperature and shock, lights, integrated GPS, and easy connectivity… These shoes will allow for the monitoring and guidance of a worker in an isolated area. Furthermore, these boots recharge simply by walking (like some watches that recharge through wrist movements).

 Source: objetconnecte.com

Currently, these boots are not available to the public; only the US military has access to them, testing them during training exercises and then in the field. However, there is no doubt that such products will eventually become available to the public, thus improving working conditions.

Finally, please note that these connected clothes are still subject to many improvements; technological possibilities have not yet finished surprising and improving us, which we hope will also contribute to improving working conditions for all those professionals who serve us on a daily basis.