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| Issue date:01/10/2008 |
| ATA Journal for Asia on Textile & Apparel - Oct 2008 Issue |
| Source:Journal for Asia on Textile & Apparel |
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Smart fabrics developers are grasping the opportunities presented by the growing concerns of healthcare and aging population. In addition to competing for easy-to-use technologies, they need to have strong marketing distribution to meet the demand from around the world
by Adrian Wilson
According to US DuPont spin-off Textronics, there are a number of key developments, which will drive forward the growth of the electronic textiles industry.
At the recent IFAI Advanced Textiles conference in Berlin, Germany, this June, these were listed by Textronics and founder and chief development and commercial officer Qaizar Hassonjee as:
Smaller sensors and electronics
Increasingly flexible electronics
Permanently mounted products
Longer battery life
Disposable products being developed
Regulated applications
With the introduction of its new Numetrex Heart Smart apparel system, Textronics is aiming at a broader audience than the company's existing products such as the Numetrex Sports Bra.
The NuMetrex Heart Sensing Sports Bra was launched by Textronics in December 2005, and was named 2006 Sports Product of the Year by the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association.
Textronics uses its patented technology to knit conductive sensing fibres directly into stretchy fabrics that can monitor physiological conditions comfortably and accurately. The company's textile electrode garments, straps and wristbands are also machine-washable and reusable. They can be used for a wide range of ECG monitoring and recording applications, including cardiac event recorders, stress testing, Holter monitoring, trans-telephonic pacemaker monitors, and respiration sensing devices.
The NuMetrex Heart Sensing Sports Bra features electronic sensing technology that is integrated into the knit of the fabric, picks up the heart's electrical pulse and radios it to a wrist watch or exercise machine via a tiny transmitter in the bra. It offers extreme comfort and convenience to women wishing to monitor their heart rate as they exercise.
NuMetrex garments have been widely appreciated as replacements for cumbersome heart rate monitoring chest straps that tend to chafe, slip and loosen during workouts.
But now Textronics is looking to consumers who don't workout at all.
"Our aim with the new Heart Smart apparel system is to get to the rest of the population beyond the sports market." Mr Hassonjee continued: "there is a vast market for people who want to be aware of their general fitness levels, but do not necessarily take part in active sports."
While still under development, Mr Hassonjee said that Heart Smart would be a simple and easy-to-use system for those wishing to monitor heart health and calories.
It will consist of embedded sensors in the apparel, with a biometric transmitter and the ability to transmit this basic data back to a mobile phone.
Sportswear brands testing the water
The Textronics ProShirt system has been tested by professional footballers in the US in a project with Reebok |
A second system with a wider range of functions for professional monitoring is also being developed. The ProShirt has been tested by professional footballers in the US in a project with Reebok. It has also been assessed by the US Airforce and Navy.
In February this year, Textronics was awarded patent 7,308,294 B2 for its textile-based electrode system by the US Patent and Trademark Office.
The company has also received US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance to market its textile-based ECG electrode for use in general electro-cardiograph monitoring and recording procedures.
The expanded vertical markets Mr Hassonjee sees applications for its product include:
Sports
Medical
Corporate wellness
Rehab
Geriatrics
Professional - work wear and standard uniform
Home Care
Gaming, fun and entertainment.
Creating moving images on garment
Equally buoyant about new developments is Philips Lumalive, the company which is putting moving images into garments and says that it plans to unveil a "truly electronic textile" product within two years.
Prototype of the latest "totally textile" Lumalive LED fabric |
At the moment, Lumalive cannot really be classed as a true textile product, since the images are made possible by semi-rigid LED panels integrated into the garments.
Philips has been involved in the development of wearables since the late 1990s, with both Philips Design and Philips Research involved in the "Soft Electronics" project.
Eventually, different ways of incorporating the electronics into garments were explored by Philips Research, one of the most promising technologies involving mounting LEDs (light-emitting diodes) onto flexible foils to create a malleable lighting panel that, because the LEDs were three-colour, could also make dynamic moving images possible. An integrated control unit makes it possible to change the light patterns and to show full colour animations. The control unit is also programmable and the system can obtain its power from a small battery pack.
This successful research project led to the creation of Lumalive as a small business to commercialise the technology.
LED wearables might help in corporate promotion
"I'm optimistic for a number of reasons," says Philips Lumalive Chief Scientist Rabin Bhattacharya. "Firstly, because LED technology, which is already very efficient, gets more so every year, as do batteries, driven by the cell phone and lap-top industries.
"I also strongly believe that as the field of e-textiles develops, the yarn manufacturers will tap into it and provide us with the products we need in the next couple of years."
Lumalive is now working with partners such as Boost in The Netherlands, targeting the B2B market, particularly for special corporate promotions and events.
"Working with such partners in the field is ideal," said Mr Bhattacharya, "because we really get a lot of feedback about what's actually required. It gives us the focus without having to worry about dealing with a number of commercial customers. The field of electronic textiles is not only a new technology, but also a new market, and we currently have an opportunity to assess how big that market is, as well as establishing a customer base and providing revenue for further research."
"But this is not the end of the story by any means. We are of course, looking to eliminate the flex foil and have a complete textile solution. Lumalive is just the start."
The first electronic textiles, he pointed out, were heating garments.
"The difference with what we're doing is we don't want a yarn that can dissipate heat, we want one that's highly conductive and as such generates as little heat as possible, in order to maximise the power," he said.
Suitably highly conductive yarns for wearables are currently not commercially available, so Philips is working with partners to find an optimum solution.
The yarn also needs to be compatible with the weaving process as well as finishing steps such as heat-setting, dyeing and washing.
"We also need a yarn that is not corrosive and then there is the question of how best to mount the components into the textile," said Mr Bhattacharya. "All of these problems can be overcome when you’re talking about an individual, hand-made garment, but need to be successfully addressed in order to allow full-scale industrial production."
The optical aspect is currently another consideration at Philips.
"We are talking about a garment that has the soft feel of a fabric but that glows like a lightbulb and we're currently working in-house on a method to diffuse that glare," Mr Bhattacharya said. "We now have the product in development and are doing a lot of testing in respect of production methods."
Seeking wide and deep distribution
Meanwhile, QIO Systems, the wearable electronics spin-out of Eleksen, announced it entering into a joint sales and marketing agreement with Cotswold Industries, which should see its products becoming much more commonplace.
In an emerging market populated with small, undercapitalised players, Cotswold brings a truly global capability to the wearable electronics market. With a global logistics team already focused on providing millions of trim items each year to some of the globe’s top brands, including Levi Strauss, Gap, VF Corporation, Abercrombie & Fitch and others, Cotswold has a proven reputation for delivery and customer service.
The ElekTex textile touchpad products of QIO Systems will now be sold by leading apparel trim distributor Cotswold Industries |
Under the agreement, Cotswold will resell ElekTex touchpads and QIO electronics to apparel brands and manufacturers for bundled (wholesale) and eSystem (directly to the retail) distribution for company retail locations. Cotswold will also provide worldwide integration support for its customers.
"QIO wanted to be sure that we were able to scale our business to support some of our largest customers," said John Collins, CEO and president of QIO Systems. "Signing with a heavy hitter like Cotswold brings enormous sales presence and logistics capabilities to this market."
"All of our customers are interested in this space and the spin-out of QIO from Eleksen ensures that product quality and Eleksen's design excellence will continue to add tremendous value to Cotswold's core apparel offerings," added James McKinnon, CEO of Cotswold Industries. "We're so excited to be the organisation to take QIO's solutions to the mass market. Our goal is to embed an ElekTex touchpad in every outerwear garment within the next 10 years."
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| Copyright © Adsale Publishing Limited. Any party needs to reprint any part of the content should get the written approval from Adsale Publishing Ltd and quote the source "ATA Journal for Asia on Textile & Apparel", Adsale Textile English Website - www.AdsaleATA.com. We reserve the right to take legal action against any party who reprints any part of this article without acknowledgement. For enquiry, please contact Editorial Department. |
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| Copyright © Adsale Publishing Limited. Any party needs to reprint any part of the content should get the written approval from Adsale Publishing Ltd and quote the source "ATA Journal for Asia on Textile & Apparel", Adsale Textile English Website - www.AdsaleATA.com. We reserve the right to take legal action against any party who reprints any part of this article without acknowledgement. For enquiry, please contact Editorial Department. |
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