¿ìè¶ÌÊÓƵ

Textiles are comfortable against the skin making them an ideal platform for incorporating wearable electronics. This can be particularly useful for on-body sensing where sensors often need to have good contact with the body to provide accurate results. Electronic textiles have therefore received significant attention for creating devices for wellbeing, healthcare, and protective applications.

To create electronic textiles that look and feel like conventional textiles, researchers have explored a variety of techniques for seamlessly incorporating the electronic devices. One approach is to embed small electronic components within a yarn-like structure to create an electronic yarn, which can then be used to produce a textile. This technique results in textiles with a normal appearance that retain properties critical to user comfort, such as breathability. The resulting textiles are also very durable and can be machine washed like normal clothing.

This talk will focus on the development of a selection of electronic textile devices that have been created using electronic yarns with an emphasis on wearables, including gloves that can measure your pulse, socks that can tell if you are at risk of falling over, and textile solar panels. The talk will also detail how some of these innovations were designed, developed, and tested.