• Conventional microelectronics are scaled to the fibre level for information processing and storage in flexible, stretchable textiles.
• Compared to single-fibre systems, multi-fibre computational architectures with coordinating modules exhibit higher reliability and more comprehensive functionalities.
• The single-fibre computer integrates eight microdevices via helical wiring, achieving over 60% stretchability and machine-washability.
• Distributed cooperative fibre networks improve human activity recognition accuracy from 67% to 95%.