https://www.wired.com/story/new-way-make-comfy-durable-smart-garments/

Some so-called smart garments—clothing and accessories outfitted with sensors, Bluetooth, and other gadgetry—flirt with the absurd. Does anyone need a $1,000 touch-interface backpack that alerts you if you accidentally leave your phone somewhere? Or a (now discontinued) sweatshirt that tracks your movements and awards redeemable ‘points’ you can spend on gift cards and “VIP experiences”? Not really.

Plus, current manufacturing processes make for clothes that feel weird, don’t breathe, and tend to fall apart, says Trisha Andrew, a University of Maryland professor and chemist. The conductive material used to create circuits can be prone to peeling, and specialized metallic fibers can oxidize when exposed to water. Andrew is tackling these problems with a new conductive coating process called reactive vapor deposition (RVD), which she is using to build robust smart circuitry directly onto fabric.