Students of the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) Gandhinagar have taken a groundbreaking leap by incorporating thermochromic and photochromic technologies into various products. The Textile Design (TD) course, supervised by coordinators Avanish Kumar and Mahesh Shaw, witnessed the unveiling of swaddling clothes, military fatigues, children’s games, and even curtains that feature these cutting-edge technologies.
Avanish Kumar, an assistant professor at NIFT, explained that they used dyes with different compositions to achieve the desired results. The aim is to provide users with a visually intuitive and easy-to-identify cue, thus enhancing usability. While working to scale up the technology, the team is also focusing on integrating these features directly into the fabric during the manufacturing process.
One fascinating application of these technologies is seen in an interactive game developed by student Pratiksha Yadav. The game prompts children to blow into their cupped palms, rub them together, and then place them on blocks, revealing hidden letters beneath heat-sensitive paint. This interactive learning experience helps children remember specific letter positions and further develops their cognitive skills.
Other notable advancements include clothes that change colour in response to temperature, helping parents monitor a baby’s fever and mobile covers that indicate device overheating. Military fatigues now adapt to different environments through colour-changing camouflage, turning from green in temperate zones to desert yellow in scorching desert conditions.
Moreover, the students successfully engineered curtains that displayed three different colours throughout the day. By employing pigments with both photochromic and glow-in-the-dark properties, the curtains transform from white to deep yellow during peak afternoon hours, providing additional shade. At night, the heat absorbed during the day manifests as captivating radium prints that glow in the dark.
The faculty members and students have undoubtedly pushed the boundaries of what is possible in the textile industry. With their novel approaches and creative implementations, they have unlocked a world of new opportunities for garments and home decor. The integration of thermochromic and photochromic technologies into everyday products certainly promises to revolutionize our interaction with fabrics and materials.
