What are e-textiles used for?

Smart textiles, also known as electronic textiles (e-textiles), include electronic components and perform some functions. Smart fabrics are intelligent systems that can observe or communicate ambient circumstances and detect and process the wearer’s state.

What are some examples of e-textiles?

Embedded e-textiles have electronic components woven into the fabric. One example of an embedded e-textile is a pair of gloves that have conductive yarn woven into the fabric for heating purposes. Embedded e-textiles are more comfortable for everyday use, as they do not include bulky sensors like laminated e-textiles.

What is the history of e-textiles?

The journey of e-textiles started at the end of the 19th century when people designers and engineers try to combine the electricity within clothing. In 1968, a relationship between apparel and electronics was shown in an exhibition called Body Covering held in the Museum of Contemporary Craft in New York City.

What does the E stand for in e-textiles?

An e-textile is a fabric developed with electronics in it to enable conductivity and the use of various technologies. Electronic textiles may be embedded with sensors, batteries, LEDs and hands-free computing devices, depending on the fabric’s purpose.

How are e-textiles used in fashion?

E-textile researchers are aiming at creating devices that are as soft, flexible and comfortable as traditional items of clothing, with added technological benefits. Although most e-textiles are made for wearing, they are also used in items such as wall hangings, quilts and umbrellas.

Who invented e-textiles?

Smart Textiles / E-Textiles. Steve Mann is known as “the father of wearable computing” [1] and often refers to the abacus ring as one of the first pieces of wearable technology.

What are the two main types of e-textiles?

The field of e-textiles can be divided into two main categories:

  • E-textiles with classical electronic devices such as conductors, integrated circuits, LEDs, OLEDs and conventional batteries embedded into garments.
  • E-textiles with electronics integrated directly into the textile substrates.

What is an example of a smart textile?

UV protecting clothing, conductive fibers, plasma-treated clothing, and waterproof fabrics are the typical examples of passive smart textiles. Active smart textiles can sense the stimuli from the environment and also react to them; besides the sensor function, they also have an actuator function.

How were smart textiles developed?

What Makes Functional Textiles, Smart? The evolution of technical textiles takes cues from the electronics and photonics industries. The integration of sensor arrays and plastic optical fiber (POF) creates an extension of functional fabrics commonly known as smart textiles.