Smart fabric, or "wearable clothing

2008 30th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, 2008

Smart fabrics and interactive textiles (SFIT) are fibrous structures that are capable of sensing, actuating, generating/storing power and/or communicating. Research and development towards wearable textile-based personal systems allowing e.g. health monitoring, protection & safety, and healthy lifestyle gained strong interest during the last 10 years. Under the Information and Communication Programme of the European Commission, a cluster of R&D projects dealing with smart fabrics and interactive textile wearable systems regroup activities along two different and complementary approaches i.e. "application pull" and "technology push". This includes projects aiming at personal health management through integration, validation, and use of smart clothing and other networked mobile devices as well as projects targeting the full integration of sensors/actuators, energy sources, processing and communication within the clothes to enable personal applications such as protection/safety, emergency and healthcare. The integration part of the technologies into a real SFIT product is at present stage on the threshold of prototyping and testing. Several issues, technical as well usercentred, societal and business, remain to be solved. The paper presents on going major R&D activities, identifies gaps and discuss key challenges for the future.

The combination of electrical functionality and textiles has a long history. An electric corset from the 19 th century promised rather dubious health benefits for ladies "in all stations of life". A patent from 1911 describes some electrically heated gloves for "drivers of aeroplanes, automobiles, motor boats and other conveyances which are guided by manually operated steering wheels". Electric blankets began to have commercial success starting from the late 1930s. Over the last decade, there has been considerable interest in more sophisticated technologies and new generations of modern electronic textiles can be identified. Smart and Interactive Textiles (SMIT) are a new emerging sector and growth is forecast at 40% annually and to reach US$2.5 billion by 2021.The history of electrical and electronic textiles will be briefly reviewed and the latest developments in the creation of a new generation technology for the integration of semi-conductor chips within the fibres of yarns will be described.

Proceedings of The IEEE, 2003

The invention of the Jacquard weaving machine led to the concept of a stored "program" and "mechanized" binary information processing. This development served as the inspiration for C. Babbage's analytical engine-the precursor to the modern-day computer. Today, more than 200 years later, the link between textiles and computing is more realistic than ever. In this paper, we look at the synergistic relationship between textiles and computing and identify the need for their "integration" using tools provided by an emerging new field of research that combines the strengths and capabilities of electronics and textiles into one: electronic textiles, or e-textiles. E-textiles, also called smart fabrics, have not only "wearable" capabilities like any other garment, but also have local monitoring and computation, as well as wireless communication capabilities. Sensors and simple computational elements are embedded in e-textiles, as well as built into yarns, with the goal of gathering sensitive information, monitoring vital statistics, and sending them remotely (possibly over a wireless channel) for further processing. The paper provides an overview of existing efforts and associated challenges in this area, while describing possible venues and opportunities for future research.

international journal of engineering trends and technology, 2014

In this paper, we aim to study the most challenging aspects faced during the production and integration of ubiquitous electronic and computational elements into fabric. In the near future, textile products including what one wears will transform from their present to multifunctional, adaptive and responsive systems. The functions may include communication, computation and entertainment, as well as health care. Textiles used in nonapparel applications may perform surveillance and detection functions. This paper presents three new techniques for attaching off-the-shelf electrical hardware to e-textiles: (a) the design of fabric PCBs or iron-on circuits to attach electronics directly to a fabric substrate; (b) the use of electronic sequins to create wearable displays and other artefacts; and(c) the use of socket buttons to facilitate connecting pluggable devices to textiles Keywords—: : Laser-cut fabric PCBs, Electronic sequins, Socket Buttons, Military and defense, Fashion Nanowire th...

2004

Abstract: This paper describes the concept and application of textiles as tools, or components, for garments with wearable computing features. Evaluations of a selection of fabric swatches are presented and their suitability for use in the construction of smart textile systems. The electrical and electromagnetic properties of textiles are investigated with a fabric recommended for use as a UHF antenna, and another for thermochromatic use. The possibilities for power and signal networking are also explored.

Engineering in Medicine and …, 2008

Smart fabrics and interactive textiles (SFIT) are fibrous structures that are capable of sensing, actuating, generating/storing power and/or communicating. Research and development towards wearable textile-based personal systems allowing e.g. health monitoring, protection & safety, and healthy lifestyle gained strong interest during the last 10 years. Under the Information and Communication Programme of the European Commission, a cluster of R&D projects dealing with smart fabrics and interactive textile wearable systems regroup activities along two different and complementary approaches i.e. "application pull" and "technology push". This includes projects aiming at personal health management through integration, validation, and use of smart clothing and other networked mobile devices as well as projects targeting the full integration of sensors/actuators, energy sources, processing and communication within the clothes to enable personal applications such as protection/safety, emergency and healthcare. The integration part of the technologies into a real SFIT product is at present stage on the threshold of prototyping and testing. Several issues, technical as well usercentred, societal and business, remain to be solved. The paper presents on going major R&D activities, identifies gaps and discuss key challenges for the future.

Conference proceedings : ... Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. Annual Conference, 2007

Endowing a textile substrate (i.e. fibers, yarns, fabrics) with active functions is a new powerful concept, that has recently given rise to several interesting contributions. In this paper, we will describe a possible approach to this intriguing objective, focusing on the technology and on the electronic model. Future applications for this technology will allow to obtain, for instance, matrices of sensors assembled by textile technology and will ensure to obtain for wearable devices the necessary properties of drapability and conformity to the body that are required for these applications.

Advanced Materials Technologies, 2019

users anywhere and anytime. E-textiles exploit the universality of textiles which covers all types of woven, nonwoven, and knitted materials/fabrics used in a huge variety of applications from clothing (e.g., fashion, workwear, and protective clothing), interior design (e.g., upholstery and carpets), agriculture (e.g., crop protection), civil engineering (e.g., soil retentions and reinforcement), marine (e.g., sails, inflatables, etc.) and industry (e.g., filters, lifting/conveying, etc.). The functionalization of clothing with electronic intelligence offers benefits in application domains including medical and healthcare, fashion, military, first responders, and workwear. [1,2] In all such applications, it is important that the functional electronics and materials are incorporated in a manner that does not significantly alter the physical properties of the fabric and, unlike previous examples, is invisible to the user. Fabrics are by their very nature highly compliant, soft, and typically breathable. These properties make fabrics ideally suited for clothing but they make them a very challenging medium on, or in, which electronic functionality must be incorporated. [3] This is in addition to the reliability/durability challenges presented by the abrasive, compressive, and tensile forces that the fabrics experience during normal use. The first generation of e-textile garments involved portable conventional electronics being inserted into pockets designed into clothing specifically for that purpose. The LifeShirt from Vivometrics [4] is an example of a commercialized product from 2001. In these first generation e-textiles, the textile itself played no role in the electronic functionality of the garment and the shirt itself was also heavy, uncomfortable, and unaesthetic. The second generation of e-textile garments include limited electronic functionality added in the form of woven or knitted conductive interconnects, [5-7] electrodes, [8,9] and antennas. [10,11] This generation also demonstrated e-textile prototypes that included sensing functionality such as temperature, heart rate, and gas sensors developed for firefighters within the Pro-eTEX project. [12] Commercial second generation products such as the Adidas heart rate monitoring sports bra [13,14] have also emerged. In all such examples, the electronic processing and wireless communications is performed in a conventional rigid module that snaps onto the garment and must be removed for washing. In the research domain, increased levels of electronic functionality has been demonstrated with minimal compromise on the properties of the fabric by the knitting, weaving, Practical wearable e-textiles must be durable and retain, as far as possible, the textile properties such as drape, feel, lightweight, breathability, and washability that make fabrics suitable for clothing. Early e-textile garments were realized by inserting standard portable electronic devices into bespoke pockets and arranging interconnects and cabling across the garment. In these examples, the textile merely served as a vehicle to house the electronics and had no inherent electronic functionality. A reduction in electronic component size, the development of flexible circuits, and the ability to weave robust interconnects offer the potential for improved levels of electronic integration within the textile. The weaving of electronic circuit filaments less than 2 mm wide into fabrics such that the electronics are fully concealed in the textile and given extra protection by the surrounding textile fibers is introduced. The failure mechanisms for different filament circuit designs before and after integration into the textile are investigated with a 90° cyclical bending test. Results show that encapsulated filament circuits embedded within the textile survive 45 washing cycles and more than 1500 cycles of 90° bending around a bending radius of 10 mm, performing five times better than equivalent filament circuits before integration into the fabric.

IBM Systems Journal, 2000

Highly durable, flexible, and even washable multilayer electronic circuitry can be constructed on textile substrates, using conductive yarns and suitably packaged components. In this paper we describe the development of e-broidery (electronic embroidery, i.e., the patterning of conductive textiles by numerically controlled sewing or weaving processes) as a means of creating computationally active textiles. We compare textiles to existing flexible circuit substrates with regard to durability, conformability, and wearability. We also report on: some unique applications enabled by our work; the construction of sensors and user interface elements in textiles; and a complete process for creating flexible multilayer circuits on fabric substrates. This process maintains close compatibility with existing electronic components and design tools, while optimizing design techniques and component packages for use in textiles.

Modern electronic textiles are moving towards flexible wearable textiles, so-called e-textiles that have micro-electronic elements embedded onto the textile fabric that can be used for varied classes of functionalities. There are different methods of integrating rigid microelectronic components into/onto textiles for the development of smart textiles, which include, but are not limited to, physical, mechanical and chemical approaches. The integration systems must satisfy being flexible, lightweight, stretchable and washable to offer a superior usability, comfortability and non-intrusiveness. Furthermore, the resulting wearable garment needs to be breathable. In this review work, three levels of integration of the microelectronics into/onto the textile structures are discussed, the textile-adapted, the textile-integrated, and the textile-based integration. The textile-integrated and the textile- adapted e-textiles have failed to efficiently meet being flexible and washable. To overco...

2023

Wearable electronic textiles (e-textiles) have the ability to sense, respond, and adjust in multiple environmental stimuli, which can interact with the human brain's capability for cognition, reasoning, and activation. Moreover, they have the ability to generate and store energy, keep track of the wearer's health, and react to varying situations. Conductive polymers, metal-wrapped yarns, as well as, carbon nanotubes with silver, copper, and gold nanoparticles are used in a variety of yarn structures to design circuits, switches, and fabrics directly. Knitting, stitching, embroidery, and other integration techniques are used to combine electronic components and electrical interconnects to develop flexible electronic clothing and smart wearables. For this purpose, controlled sensors, actuators, conductive embroidered or printed fabric, planer yarn, data transfer devices, conductive inks, electromagnetic shielding, power supply, and other components are incorporated in etextiles design. Despite the progress made so far, wearable e-textiles still, lack the required performance and device features along with the issues related to complex fabrication techniques, end-of-life processing and sustainability. Hence, this review aims to discuss the recent developments, which address the future challenges concerning electronic (e-textiles).

Smart Materials and Structures, 2014

This paper provides a review of recent developments in the rapidly changing and advancing field of smart fabric sensor and electronic textile technologies. It summarizes the basic principles and approaches employed when building fabric sensors as well as the most commonly used materials and techniques used in electronic textiles. This paper shows that sensing functionality can be created by intrinsic and extrinsic modifications to textile substrates depending on the level of integration into the fabric platform. The current work demonstrates that fabric sensors can be tailored to measure force, pressure, chemicals, humidity and temperature variations. Materials, connectors, fabric circuits, interconnects, encapsulation and fabrication methods associated with fabric technologies prove to be customizable and versatile but less robust than their conventional electronics counterparts. The findings of this survey suggest that a complete smart fabric system is possible through the integration of the different types of textile based functional elements. This work intends to be a starting point for standardization of smart fabric sensing techniques and e-textile fabrication methods.

MATEC Web of Conferences

In the process of creating of new clothing products, the designers choose textiles which have: appearance, comfort, durability, shape retention, protection from bad weather, etc. These aspects not fully satisfy the new factors, such automatic regulation of body temperature; signs of heart attack; fever and others. Smart textiles possess such advanced properties. The functionality of smart textiles consists in informing, protecting and relaxing the wearer. In this research, we approached and revealed the application of e-textile materials and their importance in clothing. The research methodology consists in the efficacy of applying Cu wires to the fabric and the result obtained. The results obtained are positive and they are revealed in the research.

Journal of Social Sciences, 2023

In recent years, smart clothing has emerged as a new possibility of transforming the clothing sector through technology. It has the potential to enhance the quality of life and revolutionize the way we work. Smart clothing is an emerging field of wearable technology that integrates advanced electronics like sensors, microprocessors, and communication modules with textiles and garments to offer innovative functionalities beyond their traditional limits. The current research presents a comprehensive review of smart clothing, exploring its introduction, current areas of use, and widespread global applications and ongoing developments. Further the current status of its development in India has been reviewed along with its areas of application in the present times and its future prospects. India’s dynamic technology ecosystem can facilitate the growth of smart clothing development and adoption. The country’s diverse population and unique challenges present numerous opportunities for smart clothing application customised as per renewed requirements. Cases of smart clothing development from India have been reviewed. A need for further research and collaboration among various disciplines has been observed in order to address challenges and unlock the full potential of smart clothing.