Architects from the University of Toronto have taken the idea of a "security blanket" into the 21st century.
A team from the faculty of architecture has created an innovative blanket that is making waves in the medical world. The blanket, called the "IM Blanky," is a responsive blanket that monitors the body of the person using it.
Sewn onto the blanket are more than a hundred sensors that allow the blanket to create an electronic 3D image of itself. That image can be transmitted wirelessly to a computer where it can then be monitored. As the blanket changes shape and position, so does the 3D image.
It is this modelling technology that gives the blanket a number of potential applications in the healthcare sector.
Sensors that monitor the body's temperature, humidity and heart rate could be added to the blanket, creating a true "security blanket" in the medical sense. The blanket could also be used to help diagnose sleep disorders.
"Healthcare is one very obvious and exciting application," said Carol Moukheiber, co-director of the Responsive Architecture at Daniels School at the University of Toronto in an interview with CTV News Channel.
The blanket's non-intrusive surface and its familiarity to patients is one of the features that makes the IM Blanky so special, said Moukheiber. And it was the desire to meld the comfort and familiarity of a blanket with today's newest technology that inspired the team behind the IM Blanky.
"We tried to think about a confrontation of a computer and its cold rationality to the soft warm fuzziness of a blanket," said Moukheiber. "What happens when you add a tiny computer to an ornamental object? What would it do?"
Equal care and attention to detail went into the beauty of the blanket, as the technological specifications, said Moukheiber.
The blanket was initially created for an exhibition called "Stitches" that asked participants to create new objects that combined traditional Chinese embroidery with modern technology.
"We asked ‘How can we take these beautiful objects that have scenes of nature and flowers and add a layer of performance?'" said Moukheiber. "How can these objects become smart?"
Inspired by the beauty and complexity of nature, the team sewed the sensors into a pattern that resembles traditional floral embroidery.
The team also focused on functionality and marketability when building the blanket.
"We need to make it washable and adaptable to different situations," said Moukheiber. "We're quite excited about it. We'd like to push it into the mass market."
Moukheiber estimates the IM Blanky could be on the market in a few years.
