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E-BRODER

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT OF SMART TEXTILES USING EMBROIDERY TECHNOLOGY FOR UPHOLSTERY, DECORATIVE AND CONTRACT TEXTILE APPLICATIONS

Field
Regional
Date
01/01/2018 - 01/12/2018
Industry
  • Consumer electronics
  • Home textiles
Budget
127.361,18 €
Funded by

IVACE

Website
Video

PROJECT INFORMATION

DESCRIPTION

The implementation of new Information Technologies and Industry 4.0 in the Textile and Apparel Sector is increasing year after year, although despite this gradual increase, there are still some barriers for wearables and smart textiles to be found in the market. The use of tools designed for the automation of the smart textile manufacturing process is, even today, a minority and, therefore, one of the main barriers.

The present research has tried to minimize this fact since, at the time of developing intelligent fabrics, embroidery technology has been used: an effective tool for the integration of sensors, actuators, interconnection and energy transport in all types of fabrics, as well as for the development of new technical textile structures with high added value.

Currently there are multiple wearable electronic systems that provide the user with new functionalities useful for their daily life. However, the integration of this type of sensors in textiles, applicable both to the user's own clothing and to other elements of the environment, is at a much lower level of development.

The miniaturization of electronic components and wireless communication makes it possible to design small, easily concealable sensors in textile articles, but with regard to integration into the fabrics themselves, only proof-of-concept work has been achieved.

An intelligent environment or domotic home is one capable of acquiring and applying knowledge about its inhabitants and their surroundings in order to adapt to them. This definition presupposes not only the ability to collect information about the environment itself and its inhabitants and to act on the conditions of the environment, but also the ability of the environment to infer appropriate operating strategies from observation and knowledge of the preferences of its users.

Research in home automation focuses on improving the quality of life of users with the integrated use of various technologies to provide new services and improve those already in use.

It's not about filling our home with new devices, but rather making the ones we already use smarter and easier to use; using that intelligence and communication capability to perform everyday tasks easier and adapt to our needs. Home automation must be user-friendly, easy to use, install and maintain, ubiquitous but unobtrusive and respectful of our privacy.

The main objective of the E-BRODER project was to carry out research to develop intelligent textiles with high added value through embroidery technology for domotic applications to be used in the following textile subsectors: home textiles, upholstery, decoration and contract.

To this end, three well-differentiated but complementary lines of research were proposed for the development of intelligent textiles:

- Development of textile systems for wireless power transmission using embroidery of conductive threads.
- Development of multilayer tactile sensors to be integrated on textiles using conventional embroidery technology.
- Development of sequins with embedded environmental sensors in order to fully automate the development of smart textiles.

The implementation of new Information Technologies and Industry 4.0 in the Textile and Apparel Sector is increasing year after year, although despite this gradual increase, there are still some barriers for wearables and smart textiles to be found in the market. The use of tools designed for the automation of the smart textile manufacturing process is, even today, a minority and, therefore, one of the main barriers.

The present research has tried to minimize this fact since, at the time of developing intelligent fabrics, embroidery technology has been used: an effective tool for the integration of sensors, actuators, interconnection and energy transport in all types of fabrics, as well as for the development of new technical textile structures with high added value.

Currently there are multiple wearable electronic systems that provide the user with new functionalities useful for their daily life. However, the integration of this type of sensors in textiles, applicable both to the user’s own clothing and to other elements of the environment, is at a much lower level of development.

The miniaturization of electronic components and wireless communication makes it possible to design small, easily concealable sensors in textile articles, but with regard to integration in the fabrics themselves, only proof-of-concept work has been achieved.

An intelligent environment or domotic home is one capable of acquiring and applying knowledge about its inhabitants and their surroundings in order to adapt to them. This definition presupposes not only the ability to collect information about the environment itself and its inhabitants and to act on the conditions of the environment, but also the ability of the environment to infer appropriate operating strategies from observation and knowledge of the preferences of its users.

Research in home automation focuses on improving the quality of life of users with the integrated use of various technologies to provide new services and improve those already in use.

It’s not about filling our home with new devices, but rather making the ones we already use smarter and easier to use; using that intelligence and communication capability to perform everyday tasks easier and adapt to our needs. Home automation must be user-friendly, easy to use, install and maintain, ubiquitous but unobtrusive and respectful of our privacy.

The main objective of the E-BRODER project was to carry out research to develop intelligent textiles with high added value through embroidery technology for domotic applications to be used in the following textile subsectors: home textiles, upholstery, decoration and contract.

To this end, three well-differentiated but complementary lines of research were proposed for the development of intelligent textiles:

– Development of textile systems for wireless power transmission using embroidery of conductive threads.
– Development of multilayer tactile sensors to be integrated on textiles using conventional embroidery technology.
– Development of sequins with embedded environmental sensors in order to fully automate the development of smart textiles.

Contact information

Jorge Moreno
Head of Intelligent Textiles and Digitalization Research Group

AITEX

Technological capabilities

Robotics
Advanced electronics