The integration of smart textiles enabling a non-invasive approach in monitoring the user’s vitals and activities

Prof. Lieva Van Langenhove

Department of textiles

Components

• Sensors and actuators• Communication devices• Energy supply• Data processing• Connections and interconnections

Miniaturisation, packaging, integration, transformation into textiles

Concepts and electro/photo active materials

Why textiles?

• All around• Versatile• Light weight• Large contact area with body• Comfortable• Easy to use

Electro conductive textiles

Stainless steel

Kevlar coated with

Knitted Woven non woven

polypyrrol copper gold

Effects from nano to macro

Conductive knitted textiles as sensor

Textrodes Respibelt

EMG monitoring

Myography for stress measurementContactless

Professional use

EMG sensorsembroidered

laminated

(www.context-project.org)

Pressure sensors

Double layer fabric:No contact contact

Quantum tunneling effect

Any mechanism that changes conductivity is exploitable for sensors

• Carbon nanotubes for conductivity• Fibre expansion changes conductivity:

•Extension•Heating •Humidity•Chemicals (E. Devaux ENSAIT)

Humidity control

Sensors:

www.Biotex-eu.com

Absorption: • Thermoresponsive gels• Supporting design

Optical sensor

Signal A’

Smart interface

Signal B

Textile fibre

Sensor/Processing unit

Sig

nal A

filter

Smart interface: active dyes

skin

pH

days

Skin pH-variation after burn wound

L. Van der Schueren, K. De Clerck

Communication

Within components

Between components in a suit‣Conductive fibres‣Optical fibres

With the wearer: •keyboard, •display

Wide environment: •Inductive (embroidery)•Antenna (printing)

Data processing: Motherboard

Fibre transistor

Conductive core: gateInsulating coatingSemiconductor coatingElectrode: source

Electrode: drain

Semiconductor Source Insulator Gate Drain

OFET: organic field effect transistor

Coating: from dip to padding

OFET textile integration

Weaving structure

Right patterns

Right contacts

No falso contacts

Stable contacts

100µm

Gate source drain

PEDOT based battery

5 cm

Conducting yarns

1

PEDOT:PSS

Textile substrate

1 mm

Warp

Weft

5 cm

1 cm

Printed battery: results

Energy from light: PV

Solar bags

www.dephotex.com

Energy from motion: piezo electrics

Deformation leads to E field

Needs large surface, no thickness

PVDF

Challenges:• Materials• Concepts• Production (poling)Electrode

Piezo electric layerElectrode

Smart textile research

• Based on • (semi)conductive materials and structures• Smart dyes

• Conceptual design• Modelling and simulation• Manufacturing• Testing

Inner garment

Outer garment

Accelerometers

GPSAntenna

TextileAntenna

Flexible Battery

ExternalTemperature

Alarm

DataRecording

Processing Transmission

Victim patch

Parameter

• Heart beat rate

• Respiratory rate

• Body Temperature

Cfr. inner garment

Key issues

Comfort

Working conditions – relevant parameters

Effective alarm generation

System maintenance

Ease of use

Weight

Cost

Robustness

Energy constraints

Long range transmission

Monitoring Centre

Accelerometers

GPSAntenna

TextileAntenna

Flexible Battery

ExternalTemperature

Alarm

DataRecording

Processing Transmission

150€

25€

>600€

1500€

www.cutecircuit.com

www.proetex.org

www. .eu

Coordination action for enhancing the breakthrough of intelligent textile systems (e-textiles and wearable Microsystems)

www. .eu

COLAE: Commercialisation Clusters of OLAE