This talk was given at a local TEDx event, produced independently of the TED Conferences. You might keep your smartphone in your pocket – but what if your pocket itself was smart? At Drexel University, Geneviève Dion imagines new textiles and techniques that knit useful technology into smart clothing that contains sensors and other wearable electronics. Imagine a maternity blouse that monitors mom and baby's health – or a shirt that amplifies your WiFi signal.

At Drexel’s ExCITe Center, designer Geneviève Dion runs the Shima Seiki Haute Technology Laboratory, where textile machines are knitting the future. Dion’s state-of-the-art laboratory, launched in 2012, conducts multidisciplinary research on smart textiles and wearable technologies, with strong support from industry partnerships. The focus of her research is to develop processes that allow the metamorphosis of fabric into three-dimensional forms. She explores mass customization and modular production methods in order to fabricate knitted electronic components directly into garments. Her goal: Create wearable technology that is seamlessly integrated into clothes, empowering designers and researchers to invent and prototype new products that can be readily scaled up for production.

About TEDx, x = independently organized event In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)