Indian-led team designs electronic-free data-storing fabric
A US-based team led by Indian researcher Shyam Gollakota has created fabrics that can store data, from security codes to identification tags, without using any on-board electronics. The data stored using magnetic properties of a conductive thread can be read using a magnetometer, existing in smartphones. The fabric retained its data even after machine washing, drying, and ironing at 160ÂºC.