E-textiles

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An e-textile circuit swatch E-Textile Swatch Exchange 2015 - 21882532329.jpg
An e-textile circuit swatch
A dress with red LEDs built into the fabric Sparkfun LED Prom Dress-2.jpg
A dress with red LEDs built into the fabric

Electronic textiles or e-textiles are fabrics that enable electronic components such as batteries, lights, sensors, and microcontrollers to be embedded in them. Many smart clothing, wearable technology, and wearable computing projects involve the use of e-textiles. [1]

Contents

Electronic textiles are distinct from wearable computing because the emphasis is placed on the seamless integration of textiles with electronic elements like microcontrollers, sensors, and actuators. Furthermore, e-textiles need not be wearable. For instance, e-textiles are also found in interior design.

The related field of fibretronics explores how electronic and computational functionality can be integrated into textile fibers.

A new report from Cientifica Research examines the markets for textile-based wearable technologies, the companies producing them, and the enabling technologies. The report identifies three distinct generations of textile wearable technologies:

  1. "First-generation" attach a sensor to apparel. This approach is currently taken by sportswear brands such as Adidas, Nike, and Under Armour
  2. "Second-generation" products embed the sensor in the garment, as demonstrated by current products from Samsung, Alphabet, Ralph Lauren, and Flex.
  3. In "third-generation" wearables, the garment is the sensor. A growing number of companies are creating pressure, strain, and temperature sensors for this purpose.

Future applications for e-textiles may be developed for sports and well-being products, and medical devices for patient monitoring. Technical textiles, fashion and entertainment will also be significant applications. [2]

History

The basic materials needed to construct e-textiles, conductive threads, and fabrics have been around for over 1000 years. In particular, artisans have been wrapping fine metal foils, most often gold and silver, around fabric threads for centuries. [3] Many of Queen Elizabeth I's gowns, for example, were embroidered with gold-wrapped threads.

At the end of the 19th century, as people developed and grew accustomed to electric appliances, designers and engineers began to combine electricity with clothing and jewelry—developing a series of illuminated and motorized necklaces, hats, brooches and costumes. [4] [5] For example, in the late 1800s, a person could hire young women adorned in light-studded evening gowns from the Electric Girl Lighting Company to provide cocktail party entertainment. [6]

In 1968, the Museum of Contemporary Craft in New York City held a ground-breaking exhibition called Body Covering that focused on the relationship between technology and apparel. The show featured astronauts' space suits along with clothing that could inflate and deflate, light up, and heat and cool itself. [7] Particularly noteworthy in this collection was the work of Diana Dew, [8] a designer who created a line of electronic fashion, including electroluminescent party dresses and belts that could sound alarm sirens. [9]

In 1985, inventor Harry Wainwright created the first fully animated sweatshirt. The shirt consisted of fiber optics, leads, and a microprocessor to control individual frames of animation. The result was a full-color cartoon displayed on the surface of the shirt. in 1995, Wainwright went on to invent the first machine enabling fiber optics to be machined into fabrics, the process needed for manufacturing enough for mass markets and, in 1997, hired a German machine designer, Herbert Selbach, from Selbach Machinery to produce the world's first computer numerical control (CNC) machine able to automatically implant fiber optics into any flexible material. Receiving the first of a dozen patents based on LED/Optic displays and machinery in 1989, the first CNC machines went into production in 1998 beginning with the production of animated coats for Disney Parks in 1998. The first ECG bio-physical display jackets employing LED/optic displays were created by Wainwright and David Bychkov, the CEO of Exmovere at the time in 2005 using GSR sensors in a watch connected via Bluetooth to the embedded machine washable display in a denim jacket and were demonstrated at the Smart Fabrics Conference held in Washington, D.C. May 7, 2007. Additional smart fabric technologies were unveiled by Wainwright at two Flextech Flexible Display conferences held in Phoenix, AZ, showing infrared digital displays machine-embedded into fabrics for IFF (Identification of Friend or Foe) which were submitted to BAE Systems for evaluation in 2006 and won an "Honorable Mention" award from NASA in 2010 on their Tech Briefs, "Design the Future" contest. MIT personnel purchased several fully animated coats for their researchers to wear at their demonstrations in 1999 to bring attention to their "Wearable Computer" research. Wainwright was commissioned to speak at the Textile and Colorists Conference in Melbourne, Australia on June 5, 2012. He was requested to demonstrate his fabric creations that change color using any smartphone, indicate callers on mobile phones without a digital display, and contain WIFI security features that protect purses and personal items from theft.

Embroidered conductive thread Gestickte Textile Sensorflachen.jpg
Embroidered conductive thread

In the mid-1990s a team of MIT researchers led by Steve Mann, Thad Starner, and Sandy Pentland began to develop what they termed wearable computers. These devices consisted of traditional computer hardware attached to and carried on the body. In response to technical, social, and design challenges faced by these researchers, another group at MIT, which included Maggie Orth and Rehmi Post, began to explore how such devices might be more gracefully integrated into clothing and other soft substrates. Among other developments, this team explored integrating digital electronics with conductive fabrics and developed a method for embroidering electronic circuits. [10] [11] One of the first commercially available wearable Arduino based microcontrollers, called the Lilypad Arduino, was also created at the MIT Media Lab by Leah Buechley.

Fashion houses like CuteCircuit are utilizing e-textiles for their haute couture collections and special projects. CuteCircuit's Hug Shirt allows the user to send electronic hugs through sensors within the garment.

Overview

The field of e-textiles can be divided into two main categories:

E-textiles are mainly conductive yarn, textile and fabric while the other half of the suppliers and manufacturers use conductive polymers such as polyacetylene and poly-phenylene vinylene. [14]

Most research and commercial e-textile projects are hybrids where electronic components embedded in the textile are connected to classical electronic devices or components. Some examples are touch buttons that are constructed completely in textile forms by using conducting textile weaves, which are then connected to devices such as music players or LEDs that are mounted on woven conducting fiber networks to form displays. [15]

Printed sensors for both physiological and environmental monitoring have been integrated into textiles [16] including cotton, [17] Gore-Tex, [18] and neoprene. [19]

Sensors

Smart textile fabric can be made from materials ranging from traditional cotton, polyester, and nylon, to advanced Kevlar with integrated functionalities. At present, however, fabrics with electrical conductivity are of interest. [20] Electrically conductive fabrics have been produced by deposition of metal nanoparticles around the woven fibers and fabrics. The resulting metallic fabrics are conductive, hydrophilic and have high electroactive surface areas. These properties render them ideal substrates for electrochemical biosensing, which has been demonstrated with the detection of DNA and proteins. [21]

There are two kinds of smart textile (fabric) products that have been developed and studied for health monitoring: Fabric with textile-based sensor electronics and fabric that envelopes traditional sensor electronics. It has shown that weaving can be used to incorporate electrically conductive yarn into a fabric to obtain a textile that can be used as a "Wearable Motherboard". It can connect multiple sensors on the body, such as wet gel ECG electrodes, to the signal acquisition electronics. Later research has shown that conductive yarns can be instrumental in the fabrication of textile-based sensors made of fabric or metallic meshes coated with silver or conductive metal cores woven into the fabric. [22]

There are two broad approaches to the fabrication of garments with ECG sensor electrodes in research:

Fibretronics

Just as in classical electronics, the construction of electronic capabilities on textile fibers requires the use of conducting and semi-conducting materials such as a conductive textile. [ citation needed ] There are a number of commercial fibers today that include metallic fibers mixed with textile fibers to form conducting fibers that can be woven or sewn. [23] However, because both metals and classical semiconductors are stiff material, they are not very suitable for textile fiber applications, since fibers are subjected to much stretch and bending during use.

Smart wearables are consumer-grade connected electronic devices that may be embedded into clothing. [ citation needed ]

One of the most important issues of e-textiles is that the fibers should be washable. Electrical components would thus need to be insulated during washing to prevent damage. [24]

A new class of electronic materials that are more suitable for e-textiles is the class of organic electronics materials, because they can be conducting, as well as semiconducting, and designed as inks and plastics.[ citation needed ]

Some of the most advanced functions that have been demonstrated in the lab include:

Uses

LEDs and fiber optics as part of fashion LEDs built into dress.jpg
LEDs and fiber optics as part of fashion

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clothing</span> Objects worn to cover a portion of the body

Clothing is any item worn on the body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin sheets of materials and natural products found in the environment, put together. The wearing of clothing is mostly restricted to human beings and is a feature of all human societies. The amount and type of clothing worn depends on gender, body type, social factors, and geographic considerations. Garments cover the body, footwear covers the feet, gloves cover the hands, while hats and headgear cover the head, and underwear covers the private parts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Textile</span> Various fiber-based materials

Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the only manufacturing method, and many other methods were later developed to form textile structures based on their intended use. Knitting and non-woven are other popular types of fabric manufacturing. In the contemporary world, textiles satisfy the material needs for versatile applications, from simple daily clothing to bulletproof jackets, spacesuits, and doctor's gowns.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Linen</span> Textile made from spun flax fibre

Linen is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant.

Maya textiles (k’apak) are the clothing and other textile arts of the Maya peoples, indigenous peoples of the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Belize. Women have traditionally created textiles in Maya society, and textiles were a significant form of ancient Maya art and religious beliefs. They were considered a prestige good that would distinguish the commoners from the elite. According to Brumfiel, some of the earliest weaving found in Mesoamerica can date back to around 1000-800 B.C.E.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Technical textile</span> Textile product valued for its functional characteristics

"Technical textile" refers to a category of textiles specifically engineered and manufactured to serve functional purposes beyond traditional apparel and home furnishing applications. These textiles are designed with specific performance characteristics and properties, making them suitable for various industrial, medical, automotive, aerospace, and other technical applications. Unlike conventional textiles used for clothing or decoration, technical textiles are optimized to offer qualities such as strength, durability, flame resistance, chemical resistance, moisture management, and other specialized functionalities to meet the specific needs of diverse industries and sectors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Printed electronics</span> Electronic devices created by various printing methods

Printed electronics is a set of printing methods used to create electrical devices on various substrates. Printing typically uses common printing equipment suitable for defining patterns on material, such as screen printing, flexography, gravure, offset lithography, and inkjet. By electronic-industry standards, these are low-cost processes. Electrically functional electronic or optical inks are deposited on the substrate, creating active or passive devices, such as thin film transistors; capacitors; coils; resistors. Some researchers expect printed electronics to facilitate widespread, very low-cost, low-performance electronics for applications such as flexible displays, smart labels, decorative and animated posters, and active clothing that do not require high performance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stretchable electronics</span>

Stretchable electronics, also known as elastic electronics or elastic circuits, is a group of technologies for building electronic circuits by depositing or embedding electronic devices and circuits onto stretchable substrates such as silicones or polyurethanes, to make a completed circuit that can experience large strains without failure. In the simplest case, stretchable electronics can be made by using the same components used for rigid printed circuit boards, with the rigid substrate cut to enable in-plane stretchability. However, many researchers have also sought intrinsically stretchable conductors, such as liquid metals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conductive textile</span> Fabric which can conduct electricity

A conductive textile is a fabric which can conduct electricity. Conductive textiles known as lamé are made with guipé thread or yarn that is conductive because it is composed of metallic fibers wrapped around a non-metallic core or has a metallic coating. A different way of achieving conductivity is to weave metallic strands into the textile.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wearable technology</span> Clothing and accessories incorporating computer and advanced electronic technologies

Wearable technology is any technology that is designed to be used while worn. Common types of wearable technology include smartwatches and smartglasses. Wearable electronic devices are often close to or on the surface of the skin, where they detect, analyze, and transmit information such as vital signs, and/or ambient data and which allow in some cases immediate biofeedback to the wearer.

Electronic skin refers to flexible, stretchable and self-healing electronics that are able to mimic functionalities of human or animal skin. The broad class of materials often contain sensing abilities that are intended to reproduce the capabilities of human skin to respond to environmental factors such as changes in heat and pressure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diffus Design</span>

Diffus Design is a design company and consultancy based in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was founded in 2004 by Michel Guglielmi and Hanne-Louise Johannesen as a creative partnership. The Diffus Design team works with theoretical and practical approaches toward art, design, architecture, and new media.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Google ATAP</span> Skunkworks team and in-house technology incubator

Google's Advanced Technology and Projects group (ATAP) is a skunkworks team and in-house technology incubator, created by former DARPA director Regina Dugan. ATAP is similar to X, but works on projects, granting project leaders time—previously only two years—in which to move a project from concept to proven product. According to Dugan, the ideal ATAP project combines technology and science, requires a certain amount of novel research, and creates a marketable product. Historically, the ATAP team was born at Motorola Mobility and kept when Google sold Motorola Mobility to Lenovo in 2014; for this reason, ATAP ideas have tended to involve mobile hardware technology.

Asha Peta Thompson is a British entrepreneur and textile designer. She is the co-founder and director of Intelligent Textiles, who create wearable technology including e-uniforms for infantry.

Tricia L. Carmichael is a Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Windsor. She develops new materials for stretchable electronics with a current focus on wearable electronic devices.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ana Claudia Arias</span> American physicist

Ana Claudia Arias is a Brazilian American physicist who is a professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences at the University of California, Berkeley. Her research considers printed electronic materials and their application in flexible electronics and wearable medical devices.

Clothtech is a segment of technical textiles that includes all textile components used primarily in clothing and footwear. Clothtech adds functional properties to the product that improve specific and critical objectives. Clothtech encompasses the functional parts that may not be visible, such as zippers, labels, sewing threads, elastics, insulating fiber fills, waddings, shoelaces, and drawcords velcro, and interlining cloths, etc. Sewing threads is the major component that accounts around 60% of the technical textiles under clothtech followed by labels 19%, interlinings 8%, shoelaces and zip fasteners 5%, Velcro and umbrella 2%.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Textile performance</span> Fitness for purpose of textiles

Textile performance, also known as fitness for purpose, is a textile's capacity to withstand various conditions, environments, and hazards, qualifying it for particular uses. The performance of textile products influences their appearance, comfort, durability, and protection. Different textile applications require a different set of performance parameters. As a result, the specifications determine the level of performance of a textile product. Textile testing certifies the product's conformity to buying specification. It describes product manufactured for non-aesthetic purposes, where fitness for purpose is the primary criterion. Engineering of high-performance fabrics presents a unique set of challenges.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chi Hwan Lee</span> American biomedical engineer, academic, and researcher

Chi Hwan Lee is an American biomedical engineer, academic, and researcher. He is the Leslie A. Geddes Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering and associate professor of mechanical engineering, and by courtesy, of materials engineering and speech, language, and hearing sciences at Purdue University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Medical textiles</span> Textiles for medical and healthcare use

Medical textiles are numerous fiber-based materials intended for medical purposes. Medical textile is a sector of technical textiles that emphasizes fiber-based products used in health care applications such as prevention, care, and hygiene. The spectrum of applications of medical textiles ranges from simple cotton bandages to advanced tissue engineering. Common examples of products made from medical textiles include dressings, implants, surgical sutures, certain medical devices, healthcare textiles, diapers, menstrual pads, wipes, and barrier fabrics.

Monica Felicia Crăciun is a British-Romanian physicist who is a Professor of Nanoscience at the University of Exeter. Her research investigates 2D Materials for civil engineering, wearable technologies and optoelectronic devices. Craciun has pioneered the incorporation of graphene into concrete, wearable technologies and optoelectronic devices.

References

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  4. ↑ Marvin, C. When Old Technologies Were New: Thinking About Electric Communication in the Late Nineteenth Century. Oxford University Press, USA, 1990.
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  7. ↑ Smith, P. Body Covering. Museum of Contemporary Crafts, the American Craft Council, New York, NY, 1968
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  15. ↑ "LumaLive.com". Archived from the original on 2010-02-06.
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  22. 1 2 Shyamkumar, Prashanth; Pratyush Rai; Sechang Oh; Mouli Ramasamy; Robert Harbaugh; Vijay Varadan (2014). "Wearable Wireless Cardiovascular Monitoring Using Textile-Based Nanosensor and Nanomaterial Systems". Electronics. 3 (3): 504–520. doi: 10.3390/electronics3030504 . ISSN   2079-9292. CC-BY icon.svg The material was copied from this source, which is available under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License
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