E-Textiles That Will Grow On You
If you have been waiting for a wearable electronic Chia Pet, then researchers at Cornell University have just made your dreams come true.
How many times have you found yourself wishing you had an electronic Chia Pet that you could stick on your head? Alright, so maybe that is not the kind of thing most people dream about. It may even sound a little bit crazy (and it might just be), but that is essentially what a group of researchers at Cornell University has just built. What motivated them to build these wearable electronic plants (I never thought I’d say those three words together!) is the idea that it could cause us to develop a relationship with our devices.
Traditional wearable devices are soulless little black boxes that we use for a time, then toss in the garbage when their useful lives are through. The team believes that if a living thing is incorporated into such devices, and we invest in caring for them, we will not be so quick to toss them in the garbage and might even start to look at such things through a lens of sustainability and environmental protection.
The fabrication process, which the researchers named LivingLoom, is an extension of a previous technology called EcoThreads. EcoThreads are biodegradable threads that can be incorporated into e-textiles for more environmentally-friendly wearables. The fabrication process for these threads involves the use of a hydrogel. When creating a LivingLoom wearable, this material has chia seeds incorporated into it. The result is a yarn that sprouts little plants — if they are properly cared for.
LivingLoom is not just about appearances and little green friends, it is also a functional material. The platform is conducive to adding conductive traces and yarn-embedded sensors. In this way, these wearables could track the wearer’s health or monitor environmental factors, among many other potential applications.
To explore how this concept might play out in the real world, the team conducted a user study. 10 participants wore LivingLoom wristbands for three days, recording their experiences and interactions. Many users found themselves forming surprising emotional connections with the tiny sprouting plants. Some described feeling a sense of mutual care — watering the plant when they themselves needed hydration, or noticing the plant had grown after a restful night’s sleep.
Some of the wearable prototypes include hairbands, hats, sandals, and even garden pillows. These items are designed not only to support plant growth but also to allow for regular human activity. Accessories like hats and wristbands were especially well-received due to their natural exposure to sunlight and minimal interference with daily tasks. However, LivingLoom will definitely not appeal to everyone’s sense of style.
The long-term vision includes integrating LivingLoom into smart agriculture, health monitoring, and sustainable fashion. The researchers believe that by embedding living organisms directly into the things we wear, we could create new models for sustainability, empathy, and coexistence with nature — one sprouting thread at a time.