It is interesting the number of proposals that come to promote sports performance. Until a few years ago, those who were passionate about sports put on any cotton shirt and trained however they could. With the advancement of science, new materials are being discovered that ensure the improvement of the athlete. On this occasion we will tell you about the idea created by engineers from the University of California at Irvine, inspired by the design of squid skin.
The creation has been unveiled in A study published in Nature Communications. We tell you everything related to this new state-of-the-art adaptive fabric, which allows you to control your temperature.
How does squid skin work?
It is curious that a sports fabric imitates the natural characteristics of squid skin to adapt to its environment. In order to do this, the researchers took design samples from several species of squid, octopus and cuttlefish that use adaptive and dynamic skin to survive in the water. The ability of cephalopods to camouflage themselves by rapidly changing color is due to skin cells (chromatophores) that can rapidly transform.
"Ultralight space blankets have been around for decades — marathon runners wrap themselves in them to prevent loss of body heat after a run — but the main drawback is that the material is static.”, says the co-author of the work, Alon Gorodetsky. However, the engineering team has managed to create “a version with modifiable properties so that the amount of heat trapped or released can be regulated".
How did the idea translate to sport?
According to Gorodetsky, this new material has many applications, especially in textile garments. They may be able to adjust to the parameters of each user, so that athletes feel comfortable training in a closed or covered area. In addition, this could generate a potential saving of 30 to 40% in the use of energy for heating and air conditioning, according to the author of the study.
In the case of marathon runners, they could define the desired level of thermal comfort for each garment, optimizing performance during races and recovering at the end. Likewise, the light weight, low manufacturing cost and ease stand out, as well as the durability of the material. «It is capable of stretching and returning to its original state thousands of times.«.