Intelligent textiles, also known as technical textiles or advanced fabrics, are textile products (often used in clothing) that incorporate advanced functionalities thanks to the integration of sensors, actuators or intelligent fibres.

A real cross between the worlds of electronics and textiles, we’re hearing more and more about them without really understanding the subject. However, many people are telling us that this is the future, that tomorrow not a single T-shirt produced in the world will not incorporate a sensor.

There’s still a long way to go before this level of integration is achieved, but there are already solutions available that allow you to integrate innovative functions into your products!

In this article we explore the different smart textile technologies and their applications.

1. Definition of intelligent textiles

Smart textiles are fabrics that have been designed to incorporate additional functionalities.

The aim is to be able to integrate electronic functions into a textile product, such as a garment, while keeping the integration of rigid components to a minimum. The very nature of a garment is that it is supple, light and flexible, and the integration of rigid electronic boxes would totally degrade the comfort and therefore the use of the product.

It has therefore become essential for certain applications to devise a way of integrating sensors, communication or even energy directly into the textile.

The first prototypes of intelligent textiles date back to the 1980s, when miniature electronic boards (PCBs, see our article on PCBs here and here) were simply integrated into the textile.

Today, intelligent textiles incorporate luminous fibres or conductive wires directly into the weave for data transfer, or conductive ink on the surface.

There are now many solutions, even if the field is fairly recent.

The environment in which they are used is often very restrictive, especially when it comes to clothing: machine washing, bad weather, creasing… textiles have a hard life, and their robustness is put to the test.

Even so, intelligent textiles often need to be connected at the end to a rigid electronic box, either to process the signal, to control the actuators, or simply to provide a power supply.

2. The different types of intelligent textiles

There are various categories of intelligent textiles, which can be classified as follows :

a. Sensors : 

In the sensor category, we all have the chest belt to measure heart rate during sports sessions, for example.
But many other things can be measured: temperature, humidity, pressure, etc.

b. Actuators :

In terms of actuators, the best known is undoubtedly the luminous fibres integrated into clothing. But today we also find textiles capable of changing shape or applying pressure.

c. Conductors :

Transferring information from point A to point B is often problematic in textiles. Yarns are quite fragile, and folding and unfolding fabrics means that contact is quickly broken.
Today, there are fabrics that incorporate directly printed conductive ink to form an electronic circuit, as well as conductive fibres woven directly into the fabric.
Finally, there are even solutions today for turning an electronic system on or off depending on the state of opening of a zip.

3. Applications

There are a number of applications for smart textiles.
Although still very expensive and complicated to set up, it is not in our everyday T-shirts that we see the most logical use for this technology.

a. Health :

Measuring vital parameters while wearing a simple, slightly high-tech T-shirt is the easiest use imaginable for an intelligent textile. A heart rate, humidity or temperature sensor can easily be integrated into a garment. This data can also be combined with a sensor that tracks the wearer’s physical activity.

But some applications go even further, imagining garments capable of managing compression, or even measuring the level of healing of a wound directly in the dressing.

b. Safety :

The integration of protective functions into clothing brings a real benefit in terms of safety: increased visibility thanks to integrated lighting, whether to indicate a presence or a change of direction.
Monitoring a lone worker or a member of the armed forces to determine their position and level of health is also an interesting application.

c. Performance:

Mainly used in sport, these intelligent textiles can be used to measure movements, execution speeds or even reaction times. By causing as little discomfort as possible to the athlete, whether in the shoe or on the arm, for example, lightness and flexibility are priority parameters for analysing the targeted movement as effectively as possible.

4. Conclusion

As you can see, intelligent textiles offer a wide range of innovations. Still in the early stages of development, these technologies are mainly reserved for very specific applications. But the field is constantly evolving, and it’s becoming easier and easier to integrate additional functions into textile products.

Pushing the boundaries of innovation even further!

If you have any questions about your project, don’t hesitate to contact our team of electronics engineers, who will be happy to answer them.

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