Microsoft has made further inroads in the field of smart textiles by publishing a patent titled Electronically Functional Yarn. The purpose of the patent, published by the USPTO, is to embed electronic functionality into yarns that are typically non-electronically functional. Within the document, examples are disclosed that provide an electronically functional yarn comprising a core, a sheath at least par tially surrounding the core, and an electronic circuit formed on the core. The circuit includes three or more control lines and more than three diode-containing circuit elements controllable by three or more control lines – each cir cuit element being controllable via a corresponding set of two of the three or more control lines. One potential end use of the y arn is an electronically functional textile article in the f orm of an item of clothing , such as a smar t shirt, comprising integrated light sources. It c ould also be applied t o other electronically functional textile articles and devices, such as s oft-touch computing devices (eg. head-mounted displays, wrist-worn devices, functional gloves configured as a c ontrol device etc), upholstery for furnishings, wall hangings, signage and other information displays, and Internet of Things (IoT) devices.
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