DoM's Dr. Vivian Mushahwar leads a large interdisciplinary research team to develop smartwear clothing that will assist with mobility issues.
19 March 2025
By Gillian Rutherford, Folio
The ‘smartwear revolution’ begins: clothing with built-in sensors will improve balance, reduce injuries and support people with muscle weakness
Imagine wearing clothing that could change its shape and stiffness to help you recover from a shoulder injury, reduce your risk of falling or assist with muscle weakness so you could be more active in your community.
It sounds like the stuff of science fiction, but an interdisciplinary team led by the University of Alberta has just been given the green light to make it a reality.
The federal government recently announced that it’s giving the team $24 million over six years to work on technology that could increase independence and quality of life for millions of people.
“We’re starting a smartwear revolution to create light, washable, affordable assistive technology that will be indistinguishable from your current clothing,” says project lead Vivian Mushahwar, professor of medicine, Canada Research Chair in Functional Restoration and director of the Institute for Smart Augmentative and Restorative Technologies and Health Innovations (iSMART) and Smart Technology (ST) Innovations.
Mushahwar is a global expert in neural and rehabilitation engineering with a track record of leading successful interdisciplinary teams and commercializing adaptive devices.
With this project, Mushahwar brings together 64 researchers and collaborators from the U of A and across Canada, the United States and Europe. The team includes fashion designers, disability advocates, clothing manufacturers, visual artists, even a choreographer, as well as researchers from eight faculties across the College of Health Sciences, the College of Natural and Applied Sciences, and the College of Social Sciences and Humanities.
Mushahwar says the U of A’s core facilities, well-equipped laboratories and strong support for interdisciplinary research allowed the project to win one of just six transformation grants from Canada’s New Frontiers in Research Fund for high-risk, high-reward research this year.
“Collectively the time was just right for all of us to come together,” Mushahwar says. “We have the resources, we have the skills, we have the expertise to do this work in a very productive fashion.”