Linen and uniform service industry operators soon may market textiles with embedded circuitry. Such circuitry enables electricity to flow through fabric via conductive fiber or lightweight wire to perform functions such as:

• Illuminating highway workers’ coveralls to protect them from vehicles
• Everyday monitoring of wearers’ vital signs as a medical aid
• Mapping how patients’ weight is distributed across hospital mattresses to prevent bed sores

While these technologies are now feasible, like most fabric breakthroughs, it may take years for them to develop enough of a following to justify the expense of manufacturing them durably enough ...