This document discusses smart and electronic textiles. It describes how smart textiles can sense, react to, and process data from their environment using integrated electronics. Common functions of smart textiles include sensing, actuation, data processing, communication and energy storage. The document outlines several applications of smart textiles like monitoring body signals and temperature, providing electrotherapy, and regulating heating and cooling. It also discusses various technical challenges in developing textile-based sensors, actuators, power sources, displays and communication systems.

1. Interactive textiles today
Prof. Lieva Van Langenhove
Department of Textiles

2. Smart and electronic textiles?
Smart textile measures/reacts
Reaction is intrinsic
Reaction is controlled by electronics
Active data processing

3. Functions of smart textiles
• Sensor
• Actuator
• Data processing
• Communication
• Energy

4. Why textiles?
• All around
• Versatile
• Light weight
• Large contact area with body
• Comfortable
• Easy to use

5. Effects from nano to macro

6. Objective

7. The textile can absorb, reflect, shield,
measure or generate …
Temperature Electric properties
Heat flux Movement
Electromagnetic fields Forces
Humidity Mechanical strength
Chemicals Odour
Gases Acoustic
Radiation Biological

8. Electromagnetic fields: conductive
textiles
Stainless
steel
Knitted Woven non woven
Kevlar
coated polypyrrol copper gold
with

9. Conductive textiles as sensor
Textrodes Respibelt

10. EMG monitoring
Myography for stress measurement
Contactless
Professional use
EMG sensors
embroidered
laminated
(www.context-project.org)

11. Electrotherapy
• Homogeneous current • Tactile stimulus
density • Skin stimulation
• Tissue reinforcement
• Electrode design • Sensory effects
• Current supply • Muscle stimulation
• Contact with skin • Warming up
• Exercising
• Conditions of current •Drug delivery
• Skin permeability
• Iontophoresis

12. Current density must be homogeneous
Stripe Concentric
Uniform profile square
profile
Peak current density: 33 mA/mm2 21 mA/mm² 15.6 mA/mm2

13. Electrotherapy prototypes

14. Heating
Polar Sefar

15. Cooling
• Grado Zero F1 pilots
• Prospie project:
• Salts that cool when wetted
• Ventilation in clothing
• Phase change materials
www.prospie.eu

16. Self adapting insulation/ventilation
Biomimetics: based on
pine cone
Coating reacting on
humidity
G. Jenonimidis
University of reading UK

17. Phase change materials
•Developed by NASA in 90’s
•Cope with large temperature variations
•More than 500 substances
•Uses melting heat: about 200 times higher than
caloric value
•Paraffin waxes in micro capsules

18. Thermoregulation challenges
• Sensors
• Determining thermal comfort
• Adequate control strategies
• Actuators:
• Cooling
• Insulation
• Ventilation

19. Mechanical actuators
Mechanisms Status
Thermal/hygral expansion Limited flexibility
Shape memory materials One way, expensive, control
Gel based systems Based on diffusion: slow
Electro active polymers Slow, low voltage
Electrostrictive systems Fast, high voltage

20. Shape memory alloys: Nitinol
Goes to a predifined
shape above transition
temperature
Grado Zero
Self ironing shirt

21. Smart interface: active dyes
Skin pH-variation
after burn wound
skin pH
days
L. Van der Schueren, K. De Clerck

22. Textile display
France Telecom

23. Built in LED
Lumalive

24. OLED
Textile structure
Organic materials
Image quality
Yield
Oxidation
TITV

25. Biochemical actuators
Micro capsules Active gels Cyclodextrins

26. Communication
Within components
Between components in a suit
‣ Conductive fibres
‣ Optical fibres
With the wearer:
• keyboard,
• display
Wide environment:
• inductive,
• antenna

27. Energy
Optimise consumption and distribution
Balance between storage and “generation”
Storage:
• Flexible chemical batteries
• Capacity based fibre batteries
Generation from:
• Heat
• Motion
• Light

28. Energy from heat: Seebeck
Uses:
Areas of cooling
•P semiconductor
•N semiconductor
Areas of heating •Conductive materials
Infineon demonstrator

29. Energy from motion: piezo electrics
Deformation leads to E field
Needs large surface, no
thickness
PVDF
Challenges:
•Materials
•Concepts
Electrode
Piezo electric layer
•Production (poling)
Electrode

30. Photovoltaics
Organic photovoltaics
Nanostructures
Transparent layer/ Dyestuffs
Electrode
Challenges:
N semiconductor
•Materials
+- +- P semiconductor
•Production
+- Electrode •Stability
•Concept

31. STELLA: Stretchable Electronics
www.stella-project.eu

32. Creating the paths: Sefar

33. Inner garment

34. Outer garment
External GPS
Temperature Antenna
Alarm
Accelerometers
Data
Flexible Recording
Textile Processing
Antenna Battery
Transmission

35. Victim patch
Parameter
•Heart beat rate
•Respiratory rate
•Body Temperature
Cfr. inner garment

36. Monitoring Centre

37. GPS
Position ProeTEX PDA Google
Earth
45.202740 45.202624 45.202755
1
09.133803 09.133932 09.133844
45.203345 45.203210 45.203322
2
09.134353 09.134457 09.137197
45.201181 45.201847 45.201555
3
09.139856 09.139828 09.139477
45.200705 45.198690 45.198816
4
09.143692 09.143832 09.143833

38. A smart textile can …
Monitor man, the environment and itself
Detect unusual conditions
Detect when things risk to get out of hand
Prevent things from happening
Protect against accidents
Monitor the impact of events
Provide early assistance
Support and follow up rehabilitation

39. Coordination action for enhancing the
breakthrough of intelligent textile systems
(e-textiles and wearable Microsystems)
www. .org
COLAE: Commercialisation Clusters of OLAE
www. .eu