Smart fabrics are one of the technologies we’ve been promised a long time ago, and while many companies are working on the subject, the final products still seem absent from retail stores. One of the big problems with this kind of technology is that it requires certain flexibility to be practical. On the other hand, wearable devices are made of stiff materials in order to incorporate electronics and input/output interfaces.

A new patent filed back in 2018 and published by the US Patent & Trademark Office last week reveals Microsoft’s approach to the issue at hand. The company is working ...