Car seats that wake up drowsy drivers, bed sheets that monitor your health, socks that let you know when you are about to do a tendon, vests that trigger an emergency beacon if you are dying of exposure – that’s what an eclectic mix of researchers spent last Friday discussing as part of an Electronic Textiles workshop in Geelong. “We are on the verge of a textiles revolution. Our clothes are set to become active participants in our lives and activities – warning us when we are becoming stressed or sick, actively protecting us from the weather,” says Barry Holcombe, a senior research scientist at CSIRO.