As global temperatures continue their relentless rise, the pressing need for innovative solutions to combat extreme heat has never been more urgent. Recent research spearheaded by Professor Dahua Shou at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) pioneers groundbreaking advancements in personal cooling technologies — marrying intelligent wearables with sustainable textiles to revolutionize how we manage heat stress. This transformative work not only addresses the escalating health risks posed by climate change but charts a visionary pathway toward adaptive, energy-efficient cooling garments designed for real-world use.
Current climate data underscores the gravity of the heat crisis. Approximately 3.6 billion individuals reside in regions highly vulnerable to climate fluctuations, with heat-related mortality exceeding 480,000 annually between 2000 and 2019. The implications extend beyond mortality; elevated temperatures degrade cognitive function, reduce work productivity, and exacerbate mental health through increased stress hormone levels and impaired sleep quality. The prevalence of more frequent and intense heat waves amplifies the necessity for personal cooling mechanisms that are both effective and environmentally sustainable.
Professor Dahua Shou, serving as the Limin Endowed Young Scholar in Advanced Textiles Technologies at PolyU, recently published a seminal article in Science that elucidates the integration of advanced materials science and artificial intelligence in personal cooling solutions. His research introduces innovative methodologies for manipulating and regulating human thermoregulation using apparel that dynamically interacts with the wearer’s physiology and external environment. By synergizing conventional and cutting-edge cooling mechanisms, his team has pushed the boundaries of textile science.
Central to this research is the exploitation of the four primary modes of heat transfer: radiation, conduction, convection, and evaporation. Each mechanism contributes uniquely to thermal management and, when intelligently integrated, can deliver superior cooling performance. The study proposes an AI-driven closed-loop architecture that interlinks sensing technologies, predictive algorithms, and actuators embedded within garments to maintain optimum thermal comfort—tailoring responses in real time to fluctuating ambient conditions and individual physiological signals.
The shift from passive to active cooling in textiles is a pivotal innovation in this domain. Spectrum-selective fabrics form the foundation, engineered to emit mid-infrared radiation efficiently while blocking incoming ultraviolet and visible spectrums, thus minimizing direct solar heat absorption. This selective radiative cooling not only conserves the body’s thermal balance but also mitigates urban heat island effects. Alongside this, conduction-tunable fillers enable garments to adjust thermal conductivity, enhancing insulation when necessary or promoting heat dissipation dynamically.
Complementing radiative and conductive elements, moisture-responsive fibers augment evaporative and convective heat loss. These specialty fibers intelligently manage perspiration by routing sweat away from the skin’s surface, facilitating rapid evaporation, and maintaining a dry microclimate. This moisture management is critical since accumulated sweat can impede cooling by increasing garment weight, reducing breathability, and diminishing radiative efficiency. By overcoming these limitations, these textiles sustain continuous cooling even during intense physical activity or prolonged heat exposure.
Integral to the system’s efficacy are lightweight wearable modules integrating thermoelectric, electrocaloric, and variable emittance devices powered by flexible solar cells and on-body energy storage. These components empower adaptive cooling controlled by AI algorithms that optimize energy use while maximizing comfort. This smart textile ecosystem operates with unprecedented agility to detect temperature rises, initiate cooling responses, and modulate thermal properties autonomously, thus extending comfort zones and reducing reliance on energy-intensive air conditioning.
Despite this exciting progress, the research highlights ongoing challenges. Achieving seamless real-time thermoregulation necessitates interdisciplinary collaboration across textile engineering, thermodynamics, flexible electronics, and machine learning. Scalability and sustainability in manufacturing remain paramount, requiring recyclable materials and user-tailored design attributes such as durability, washability, and aesthetic appeal. Furthermore, establishing standardized, user-centric performance metrics, including cooling power per watt and subjective thermal sensation, is essential to guide future development and consumer adoption.
One of the hallmark innovations emerging from Professor Shou’s team is the iActive™ intelligent sportswear. This garment leverages artificially engineered “sweat glands” powered by low-voltage actuation, coupled with a root-like liquid network that mirrors natural sweat distribution pathways, allowing rapid expulsion of perspiration droplets. This biomimetic design not only keeps the skin dry but also removes sweat at a rate surpassing human physiological limits by up to threefold, mitigating discomfort and enhancing cooling efficiency.
Another breakthrough is Omni-Cool-Dry™, a breathable, skin-like fabric engineered to direct sweat unidirectionally while employing spectrum-selective cooling functionality. This material actively reflects solar and ground radiation and enhances mid-infrared heat emission from the body, resulting in a significant reduction of skin temperature—by approximately 5°C compared to conventional textiles—thereby offering substantial relief in sun-exposed environments.
For industries operating in extreme heat conditions, the thermo-adaptive Soft Robotic Clothing integrates temperature-responsive soft actuators within textile structures. These actuators expand in response to temperature increases, augmenting fabric thickness to trap insulating still air, considerably elevating thermal resistance. This dynamic insulation yields thermal resistance values ranging from 0.23 to 0.48 K·m²/W and maintains inner garment temperatures up to 10°C cooler than standard insulating clothing when external temperatures reach up to 120°C, offering unprecedented protection and comfort.
The SweatMD wearable represents a convergence of textile science and biotechnology, featuring a completely textile-based, non-invasive microfluidic system that channels fresh sweat through biomimetic networks. Coupled with skin-friendly sensing yarns, it quantitatively tracks individual biomarkers such as glucose and potassium in real time, delivering actionable insights related to fatigue and hydration status directly to a connected smartphone, thereby facilitating personalized health monitoring alongside thermal management.
Together, these innovations form an AI-enabled ecosystem where physiological sensors gather continuous data streams, predictive models interpret thermal demand, and adaptive garments execute precise cooling responses. This system facilitates self-sustained personal cooling solutions that are not only energy-efficient but also seamlessly integrated into daily life—from casual wear and sportswear to protective industrial gear—expanding possibilities for heat resilience worldwide.
PolyU’s translational research strategy leverages partnerships across Mainland China and interdisciplinary centers, such as the PolyU-Xingguo Technology and Innovation Research Institute and the Research Centre of Textiles for Future Fashion. These collaborations facilitate the accelerated transformation of scientific breakthroughs into scalable, market-ready products adaptable to diverse climatic and occupational contexts, reinforcing the global impact of these technologies.
The significance of Professor Shou’s research is further validated by multiple prestigious recognitions, including Gold Medals at the Geneva Invention Exhibition (2024 and 2025) and the TechConnect Global Innovation Award. Additionally, his receipt of The Fiber Society’s Distinguished Achievement Award marks exceptional accomplishment, underscoring the transformative potential of his work in the field of textile science and personal thermal management.
Subject of Research: Sustainable personal cooling using advanced textiles and intelligent wearables to mitigate health risks from extreme heat.
Article Title: Sustainable personal cooling in a warming world
News Publication Date: 28-Aug-2025
Web References: DOI link
Image Credits: © 2025 Research and Innovation Office, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. All Rights Reserved.
Keywords: Heat waves, Artificial intelligence, Textiles, Fibers, Sweating, Body temperature regulation
