TEXTILES.ORG
Surmountable challenges
October 28th, 2024
E-textile for Tapis Magique, developed by Irmandy Wicaksono with Don Derek Haddad and Joseph A. Paradiso. Photo: Irmandy Wicaksono. The smart fabric segment of the textile industry is poised to grow from $4.19 billion in 2024 to $15.21 billion by 2032, according to a Business Research Insights market report, but stumbling blocks remain that keep […]
Next generation smart textiles are in development
July 29th, 2024
The Loomia Electronic Layer (LEL) is an alternative to flex PCBs, printed ink on TPU and traditional e-textiles. The technology is used to create custom heating, cabling, lighting, and sensing components. Photo: Loomia. In May of 2022, the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA), the research and development arm of the U.S. Office of the […]
Preparing to say, “I told you so”
July 29th, 2024
It’s interesting to me how the smart fabric segment of the advanced textiles industry has found ways to maneuver around the limitations inherent in powering smart fabric products. In essence, a battery in the form of a puck, as it’s now called, provides the power—one way or another. Workarounds have been largely clever manipulations of […]
Machine learning used to create a fabric touch sensor
May 13th, 2024
A new study from NC State University combines three-dimensional embroidery techniques with machine learning to create a fabric-based sensor that can control electronic devices through touch. Integrated into the fabric of a piece of clothing, the sensor can activate and control electronic devices, such as mobile apps, entirely by touch. The device is made up of […]
Super-charged smart textile can multi-task
June 12th, 2023
Scientists have developed a simple metallic coating treatment for clothing or wearable textiles which can repair itself, repel bacteria from the wearer and even monitor a person’s electrocardiogram (ECG) heart signals. The fabric becomes conductive when coated with a special 'breathable' metallic layer. Photo: Flinders University Researchers from North Carolina State University, South Korea and […]
The Smart Fabrics Conference 2023
May 8th, 2023
Air Force Research Laboratory scientists have discovered a unique stretchable conductor that uses a polymerized liquid metal network. Photo: Second Bay Studios. This year’s Smart Fabric Summit was again organized by the Advanced Textiles Association (ATA) and the Wilson College of Textiles, North Carolina State University (NC State) in Raleigh, N.C. The event took place […]
MIT researchers improve precision sensing in wearables
August 22nd, 2022
Using a novel fabrication process, MIT researchers have produced smart textiles that snugly conform to the body so they can sense the wearer’s posture and motions. Photo: Irmandy Wicaksono/ MIT Using a novel fabrication process, MIT researchers have produced smart textiles that snugly conform to the body so they can sense the wearer’s posture and […]
Washable, battery-free, wearable alternative developed at Purdue
July 26th, 2021
The fingertip of a wireless voltage detection glove illuminates when the wearer’s hand approaches a live cable. Photo: Purdue University/Rebecca McElhoe. Purdue University engineers have developed a new spray and sewing method that makes it possible to transform any conventional fabric items into battery-free wearables that can be cleaned in a washing machine. The Purdue News […]
Engineers create a programmable fiber
June 28th, 2021
Researchers at MIT have created the first fiber with digital capabilities, able to sense, store, analyze and infer activity after being sewn into a shirt. The digital fiber contains memory, temperature sensors and a trained neural network program for inferring physical activity, according to a report from the MIT news service. Yoel Fink, professor of […]
Touch surfaces for interiors shown in concept car
February 8th, 2021
Photo: Leonhard Kurz Auto manufacturers’ concept vehicles increasingly exhibit car cockpits with no mechanical switches or buttons. The solid, seamless and gently curved surfaces are, instead, equipped with functions activated by touch. Concealed under the surface are control elements that only become visible when required, but this elegant appearance belies a complex underlying technology. German […]