Ideas change everything

How "smart" clothing could help improve our health

Janani Bhaskar |

TED@DuPont

• September 2019

By designing "smart" clothing with durable technologies, we can better keep track of health and well-being, says clothing designer Janani Bhaskar. She shares how we can use screen-printing technology to attach biometric "smart stickers" to any piece of clothing -- and how they can track blood pressure, heart rate and other vital signs. "Why not transform clothing and make it a part of our digitized world?" she asks.

Want to use TED Talks in your organization?

Want to use TED Talks in your organization?

By designing "smart" clothing with durable technologies, we can better keep track of health and well-being, says clothing designer Janani Bhaskar. She shares how we can use screen-printing technology to attach biometric "smart stickers" to any piece of clothing -- and how they can track blood pressure, heart rate and other vital signs. "Why not transform clothing and make it a part of our digitized world?" she asks.

Want to use TED Talks in your organization?

About the speaker

Janani Bhaskar

Smart clothing designer

Janani Bhaskar has a PhD degree in macromolecular science and engineering from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and an MBA from Duke University. Since joining DuPont in 2011, Bhaskar has worked on a broad spectrum of programs, such as paints, coatings, films and fluoropolymers for a variety of applications, including automotive, energy storage, agricultural chemicals and consumer electronics. She’s currently focusing on developing smart clothing technologies and is passionate about using the power of materials science to create high-impact products that will improve the quality of life globally.

About TED Institute

Every year, TED works with a group of select companies and foundations to identify internal ideators, inventors, connectors, and creators. Drawing on the same rigorous regimen that has prepared speakers for the TED main stage, TED Institute works closely with each partner, overseeing curation and providing intensive one-on-one talk development to sharpen and fine tune ideas. The culmination is an event produced, recorded, and hosted by TED, generating a growing library of valuable TED Talks that can spur innovation and transform organizations.

Read more about the TED Institute