Imagine wearing a cycling jersey or ski suit that automatically adjusts to the wind to help you move faster.
This futuristic idea is becoming reality thanks to engineers at Harvard University, who have developed a new kind of “smart” textile that can change its surface shape on demand to improve aerodynamics.
Researchers at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) have created a fabric that forms tiny dimples—much like those on a golf ball—when stretched.
These dimples can reduce air resistance, or drag, by as much as 20%, making the wearer more aerodynamic.
The findings, published in Advanced Materials, could revolutionize high-speed sports like cycling, skiing, and speed skating—and even impact aerospace, maritime, and civil engineering industries.
The study was led by mechanical engineering Ph.D. student David Farrell, working in collaboration with professors Katia Bertoldi and Conor Walsh. Farrell specializes in fluid dynamics and metamaterials—engineered materials with properties not found in nature.
“We wanted to create a textile that could dynamically change its surface to optimize performance, just like a golf ball uses its dimples to fly farther,” said Farrell.
Golf balls fly efficiently because their dimples manipulate airflow, creating small, controlled turbulence that reduces drag. The Harvard team used the same principle for clothing.
Their textile is made of two layers: a stiff black woven fabric, similar to a backpack strap, and a softer, flexible gray knit.
Using a laser cutter and a heat press, they patterned the woven layer into geometric lattices—such as squares and hexagons—and bonded it to the knit layer. When the fabric is stretched, these patterns cause the surface to pop into tiny dimples.
In wind tunnel tests, the researchers found that adjusting the size and shape of the dimples changed how air flowed around the material.
By running 3,000 computer simulations, they identified specific dimple patterns that performed best at different wind speeds. “Certain dimple designs are optimized for certain speed ranges,” said Farrell. “This means we can tune the fabric to help athletes or even aircraft move more efficiently depending on their conditions.”
The key to this innovation lies in the lattice pattern that Bertoldi and her colleagues have studied for years in the field of metamaterials. Normally, when you stretch fabric, it becomes smooth and tight. But this special lattice structure makes the material expand outward instead of flattening, allowing it to form aerodynamic dimples even when stretched around curved surfaces like arms or legs.
“Our textile composite breaks the traditional rule of how fabric behaves,” said Farrell. “We’re taking advanced material design concepts and bringing them into wearable technology in a way that hasn’t been done before.”
This smart fabric could lead to clothing that adapts in real time—tightening, loosening, or reshaping itself to match wind conditions. In the future, it may help athletes gain precious seconds, reduce fuel use in transport, or inspire new designs in everything from sportswear to aircraft wings.
