The Bionic Bra: Will sci-fi lingerie find a place in your top drawer?

Fans of BBC’s The Apprentice will be familiar with the name ‘wearable technology’: a new trend for combining up-to-date fashion with state-of-the-art scientific inventions.

Wearable tech is a loose umbrella term for everything from light-up Christmas jumpers and wristbands tracking heart rate or calories consumed, to smart watches and cuffs, and UV-measuring hair slides.

So it’ll come as no surprise that the Bionic Bra (aka the Smart Bra) is set to hit shelves soonish – I say ‘ish’, because this innovation has already been 15 years in the making. With the prototype unveiled and discussed at the Opening Keynote Address of the ninth Australasian Biomechanics Conference, this novel piece of women’s underwear has been the focus of Professor Julie Steele, Director of Breast Research Australia at the University of Wollongong and Professor Gordon Wallace, Executive Research Director of the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science over the last decade and a half, and could potentially revolutionise the sports bra industry of the future.

Research conducted on the 1,300 female London Marathon runners of 2013 revealed that almost a third of them experienced breast pain while running, with the percentage increasing in accordance with cup size. The British Medical Journal published these results, noting that three out of ten of the women reporting pain blamed it on unsupportive underwear.

The aim of the scientists working at the University of Wollongong is to produce a bra that responds to the different movements of the body, adapting to give more support when necessary (such as during vigorous exercise) and less when then body is at rest and the breasts are still. This will mean the fibres automatically tighten in response to breast movement, thus preventing long-term damage to ligaments from increased wear and tear.

‘Our ability to make things from advanced materials has been greatly enhanced recently with the advent of new approaches to fabrication,’ said Professor Wallace. ‘The advent of approaches such as 3D printing has enabled us to assemble structures containing new sensing technologies to more accurately monitor movement and new artificial muscle technologies to control it.’

‘Although we have made substantial progress, we still have a way to go before the bionic bra can be taken from the bench top to the washing machine,’ added Professor Steele, referencing the prototype which is still in a rather cumbersome form. ‘However, when finished, the bionic bra will transform bra design.’

Work continues to integrate new technologies into a functional yet comfortable sports bra at the University of Wollongong.