Kadir Özlem, a PhD student in Computer Engineering at Istanbul Technical University (ITU), has developed a wearable technology that enables real-time monitoring of athletes’ posture and physiological signals. Created within the scope of the STEWART project, the smart t-shirt integrates textile-based sensors into knitted fabric to track data such as posture, heart rate, and respiration. These data are processed through a cloud computing infrastructure, allowing for continuous monitoring of the user.

"At the Soft Sensors Lab, I focused on electronic textiles and soft robotics. Thanks to my graduate studies at ITU, I had the opportunity to combine what I learned in machine learning, cloud computing, and human-computer interaction with real-world applications," says Kadir.

In addition to its practical applications, the project has yielded strong academic outcomes: contributing to five thesis studies, numerous journal articles, and international conference presentations. With promising patent prospects, the sensor-embedded t-shirt is moving closer to becoming a market-ready product.

Led by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Gökhan İnce, the project brings together computer, textile, and biomedical engineering to offer a user-friendly, comfortable, and innovative wearable technology. At ITU, we continue to shape human-centered solutions for the future through technologies driven by our students’ vision and creativity.