Electronic Textiles and AI-Enabled Smart Apparel – A Comprehensive Review

Abstract

The convergence of textile engineering, flexible electronics, artificial intelligence, and communication technologies has accelerated the development of electronic textiles and AI-enabled smart apparel. Unlike conventional wearable devices, smart apparel integrates conductive materials, sensors, microprocessors, and wireless communication modules directly into textile structures, enabling continuous monitoring, real-time data processing, and intelligent user interaction. Recent developments in functional nanomaterials, including graphene, carbon nanotubes, MXenes, conductive polymers, and metallic nanowires, have enhanced the electrical and mechanical performance of textile-based electronic systems. Combining AI-driven analytics with IoT connectivity has transformed wearable garments from passive sensing platforms into intelligent decision-support systems. These systems support applications in healthcare monitoring, sports performance assessment, rehabilitation, industrial safety, and consumer electronics through vital-sign monitoring, activity recognition, predictive health assessment, and remote monitoring. Despite significant progress, challenges related to energy management, washability, durability, interoperability, data privacy, cyber security, and sustainable manufacturing continue to hinder large-scale commercialization. This review examines recent developments in electronic textiles and AI-enabled smart apparel, focusing on advanced materials, wearable sensing technologies, intelligent data analytics, and emerging applications. Future directions towards self-powered, sustainable, and autonomous wearable systems are also discussed.