Smart fabric background. Wavy fabric with electronic components embedded in the futuristic fabric
The following is part of a series on brain-machine integration and biomechanical solutions to restore function to tissues damaged by disease, trauma or time. This and the last focus on wearable sensors and their immediate and future applications.
A new electronic textile system will enable the production of smart fabrics in free form to an extent previously unattainable. In our previous article, we discussed the implementation of smart wearable sensors for use in monitoring knee health. Although the individual use of these smart knee braces has been very positive, a problem remains. Large-scale production of smart fabrics remains unsolved. Each wearable sensor features smart e-textile material carefully developed in a laboratory. Compare this with the production of standard fabrics, which yields several million tons annually.
Why should we be interested in smart fabrics and wearable technology? We can buy the latest smartwatch for the same reasons: convenient health and fitness monitoring, including heart rate, sleep pattern, activity level, and so on, while remaining comfortable and even stylish in high-quality materials. Smart fabrics also implement a seamless convenience factor previously unseen, enabling wellness practices without clicking a button in everyday life.
In a recent article in Science, Lee et al. demonstrate the first fully automated e-textile production process, including the weaving and interconnection of fully operational electronic textile systems with multiple types of fiber devices within the same fabric.
E-textiles can have different fiber devices used for different purposes. As mentioned earlier, the Wearable Sensor Knee Brace detects the movement of the knee, both the joint itself and the surrounding muscle, to check for the progression of arthritis and other conditions.
Lee et al. focused on the use of smart textiles for use in smart environments. For example, they describe a smart home with automated luminance modulation depending on the intensity of sunlight. To automate the entire process, the e-textile materials require a photo detector, supercapacitor, field effect transistor and quantum dot light-emitting diode integrated into the fabric. Each must be flexible, thin enough to be woven and strong enough to stand the test of time.
For use in one, not to mention thousands, an automated weaving system must be installed. Lee et al. demonstrate a two-step process in their e-textile manufacturing process. First, the weaving itself is performed by a programmable weaving pattern, interweaving the electronic components with the standard material.
(A) Schematic representation of the F-PD as a sensor component, F-SC as an energy storage component, … [+]
Once woven together, the electronic components of the material remain disconnected. Connections are made by soldering silver glue to connection points and curing with an infrared laser.
The resulting smart material can withstand tensile forces of up to 600 meganewtons and an electrical resistance of approximately 55 milliohms after 10,000 cycles. In other words, their smart textiles could withstand the force caused by the weight of more than 300 blue whales and more than 20 times the electrical resistance of copper wiring in the home.
Lee et al.The light-modulating e-textile has four stages: (i) idle, (ii) sensing, (iii) control, and (iv) output. Inactive is when no ultraviolet radiation from the sun is detected and the lights are off. Detection is when ultraviolet radiation is detected, generating an output current, which becomes an input signal to the controller fiber. Control is when power is supplied. Finally, the output is when quantum light-emitting diode lamps are activated and modulated in conjunction with the amount of ultraviolet radiation detected.
When the sun is not shining, the lights are off, as it is believed to be nighttime. When the sun shines in the morning and evening but with little ultraviolet, the lights are brighter, because more light is needed to perform activities. When ultraviolet is highest during the day, lights are dimmed to save energy.
While Lee et al. note that their light-sensing smart fabric could yield a variety of optoelectronic applications such as solar energy storage and redistribution, it is their programmable weave fabrication that has widespread potential. On a larger scale, smart fabrics could be used in many areas, such as physical therapies, as discussed with the smart knee brace, but also environmental quality monitoring, waste management, pollution mitigation, environmental mapping or precision farming.
Smart fabric facilities can be used on an individual scale, for example fall detection for elderly people living alone, or on an industrial scale, with smart bathrobes in hospitals that monitor patients in a much less intrusive way.
The possibilities for smart fabrics are only limited by how much we can produce and our own imagination. We look forward to seeing how these revolutionary technologies are implemented in our daily lives sooner rather than later.
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