Washington, United States : US Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced an initiative Friday to create smart textiles that one day could see tents made of power-generating fabric, running shoes as light as socks and uniforms that detect chemical and nuclear contamination.
The Department of Defense is investing $75 million to help create "Advanced Functional Fabrics of America" -- a consortium of 89 companies, universities, researchers and startups that will innovate new fibers and textiles, Carter said as he unveiled the program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
"Revolutionary fibers and textiles have enormous potential for our defense mission," the Pentagon chief said.
"For example, lightweight sensors, woven into the nylon of parachutes, will be able to catch small tears that otherwise would expand in midair, risking paratroopers' lives."
Carter, a physicist, frequently stresses the need for the Pentagon to invest in new technologies and likes to cite GPS, jet engines and the Internet as examples of military innovations that have also transformed civilian life.
He said textile manufacturers will soon combine fibers and yarns with flexible integrated circuits, lights and sensors "to create fabrics and cloths that can see, hear, sense, communicate, store energy, regulate temperature, monitor health, change color and more."
"For example, running shoes as lightweight as socks will be able to sense impact load for every step, so athletes can better understand their physiological condition," he said.
The Pentagon's $75-million investment has already been matched by more than $240 million in contributions from public and private-sector partners, Carter said.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Department of Defense is investing $75 million to help create "Advanced Functional Fabrics of America" -- a consortium of 89 companies, universities, researchers and startups that will innovate new fibers and textiles, Carter said as he unveiled the program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
"Revolutionary fibers and textiles have enormous potential for our defense mission," the Pentagon chief said.
Carter, a physicist, frequently stresses the need for the Pentagon to invest in new technologies and likes to cite GPS, jet engines and the Internet as examples of military innovations that have also transformed civilian life.
Advertisement
"For example, running shoes as lightweight as socks will be able to sense impact load for every step, so athletes can better understand their physiological condition," he said.
Advertisement
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
COMMENTS
Advertisement
"I Don't Believe Israel-Hezbollah Fight Inevitable": US Defence Secretary India Is A "Strategic Partner", Says Pentagon US Approves Sale Of F-16 Parts Worth $80 Million To Taiwan Tear Gas Fired After Kolkata Protest Against Doctor's Rape-Murder Turns Violent 150 mg Semen In Kolkata Doctor's Body, Suspect Gang-Rape: Parents To Court 2 French Rafale Jets Collide Mid-Air, Instructor, Pilot Missing Mahindra Thar Roxx's Bookings Start From Oct 3, Deliveries By Dussehra In Assam, Epicentre Of Anti-CAA Protests, 1st Applicant Gets Citizenship Pics: PM Modi's 98-Minute Address Becomes Longest-Ever I-Day Speech Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.