01-11-2012, 06:12 PM
A Seminar Report On Electronic Textiles
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INTRODUCTION
Intelligent textiles, variously known as smart fabrics, electronic textiles, or e-textiles, have attracted considerable attentions worldwide due to their potential to bring revolutionary impacts on human life.
Electronic textiles (e-textiles) are fabrics that have electronics and interconnections woven into them. Components and interconnections are a part of the fabric and thus are much less visible and, more importantly, not susceptible to becoming tangled together or snagged by the surroundings. Consequently, e-textiles can be worn in everyday situations where currently available wearable computers would hinder the user. E-textiles also have greater flexibility in adapting to changes in the computational and sensing requirements of an application. The number and location of sensor and processing elements can be dynamically tailored to the current needs of the user and application, rather than being fixed at design time.
Electronic textiles, also described as smart fabrics in popular media, have become quite a fashionable research area. An electronic textile refers to a textile substrate that incorporates capabilities for sensing (biometric or external), communication (usually wireless), power transmission, and interconnection technology to allow sensors or things such as information processing devices to be networked together within a fabric. This is different from the smart textiles that feature scientific advances in materials research and include things such as better insulators or fabrics that resist stains. Electronic textiles allow little bits of computation to occur on the body. They usually contain conductive yarns that are either spun or twisted and incorporate some amount of conductive material (such as strands of silver or stainless steel) to enable electrical conductivity.
HISTORY OF ELECTRONIC TEXTILES
In the past, clothing-containing electronics was only portrayed in the world of science fiction. The merging of textiles and technology has made electronic textiles an exciting new reality. The idea of integrating electronics into our textile and apparel products is no longer science fiction. Textile-based computing is currently being developed, allowing the wearer to easily move audio, data, and power around a garment or textile. These specialized textiles have the potential to keep us connected, informed, and entertained without the need to carry any electronic devices. Interactive touch, voice, and body heat activated wearable electronics are being developed and are gradually appearing on store shelves. The development of these items is fueled by the increasing desire for mobile devices that will allow us to access information anywhere and at anytime.
One of the first efforts in e-textiles, performed at MIT, consisted of conductive metallic organza integrated into fabric to create interactive fabrics. The first interactive fabric was a row and column based musical keyboard. The resulting device was flexible enough to be folded and was capable of emitting the appropriate keyboard notes via external speakers.
TYPES OF SMART TEXTILES
Smart textiles are defined as textiles that can sense and react to environmental conditions or stimuli from mechanical, thermal, chemical, electrical or magnetic sources. They do not have electronic component embedded in them. They are made up of Thermo regulating, Chromic, Luminescent or Conductive materials.
Light Reflecting Fabric:
A technology has been created to convert proprietary materials into miniature reflectors that, when imbedded into fabric (Figure 4) by the millions, reflect oncoming light, such as automobile headlights, in a way that illuminates the full silhouette of a person, bicycle or any other object.
Thermal Performance Enhancing Fabric:
Hydro weave provides extraordinary protection against heat, actively cooling the wearer through evaporation, and helping to maintain the core body temperature in high-heat environments It is a three-layer design that combines special hydrophilic and hydrophobic fibers into a fibrous batting core. The batting is sandwiched between a breathable outer shell fabricanda thermally conductive, inner lining.(Figure 5)
Hydrophilic fabrics attract moisture and elongate. These fabrics may become unstable and puddle, sag, or ripple when the humidity reaches 40%. Some natural hydrophilic fibers, such as wool, cotton and linen, may return to normal size and shape when humidity levels drop. Hydrophobic fibers such as polyester, acrylic and modacrylic, have poor absorbency and are, therefore, stable.
Bio-mimic Fabrics:
Smart and intelligent textiles/materials can be defined as the materials and structures which can sense and/or respond to the environmental conditions or stimuli. If we are successful in harnessing bio inspired approaches to smart fabric design which can perform sensing and actuation, we might be able to create intelligent apparel which is currently considered as science fiction. In biological world, there are many examples of sensing and actuation via mechanical movement or structure–function relationship models, applying a set of external stimuli and responses which provide a robust paradigm to design artificial intelligent materials.
MAKING OF E-TEXTILES
The tactile and aesthetic properties of textile and apparel products are important to consumers. Many are reluctant to wear bulky gadgetry or have wires and hard plastic cases containing electronics against their bodies. In the effort to develop lighter more appealing wearable devices, conductive materials are being used to transform traditional textile and apparel products into fashionable, desirable, lightweight, wireless wearable computing devices. A material, such as metallic and optical fibers, conductive threads, yarns, fabrics, coatings and inks are being used to supply conductivity and create wireless textile circuitry.
Metallic and Optical fibers:
Electronic textiles can be created by using minute electrically conductive fibers. Electrically conductive fibers can be classified into two general categories, those that are naturally conductive and those that are specially treated to create conductivity. Naturally, conductive fibers or metallic fibers are developed from electrically conductive metals such as ferrous alloys, nickel, stainless steel, titanium, aluminum, copper, and carbon. Metal fibers are very thin metal filaments, with diameters ranging from 1 to 80 microns (μm).
[attachment=37840]
INTRODUCTION
Intelligent textiles, variously known as smart fabrics, electronic textiles, or e-textiles, have attracted considerable attentions worldwide due to their potential to bring revolutionary impacts on human life.
Electronic textiles (e-textiles) are fabrics that have electronics and interconnections woven into them. Components and interconnections are a part of the fabric and thus are much less visible and, more importantly, not susceptible to becoming tangled together or snagged by the surroundings. Consequently, e-textiles can be worn in everyday situations where currently available wearable computers would hinder the user. E-textiles also have greater flexibility in adapting to changes in the computational and sensing requirements of an application. The number and location of sensor and processing elements can be dynamically tailored to the current needs of the user and application, rather than being fixed at design time.
Electronic textiles, also described as smart fabrics in popular media, have become quite a fashionable research area. An electronic textile refers to a textile substrate that incorporates capabilities for sensing (biometric or external), communication (usually wireless), power transmission, and interconnection technology to allow sensors or things such as information processing devices to be networked together within a fabric. This is different from the smart textiles that feature scientific advances in materials research and include things such as better insulators or fabrics that resist stains. Electronic textiles allow little bits of computation to occur on the body. They usually contain conductive yarns that are either spun or twisted and incorporate some amount of conductive material (such as strands of silver or stainless steel) to enable electrical conductivity.
HISTORY OF ELECTRONIC TEXTILES
In the past, clothing-containing electronics was only portrayed in the world of science fiction. The merging of textiles and technology has made electronic textiles an exciting new reality. The idea of integrating electronics into our textile and apparel products is no longer science fiction. Textile-based computing is currently being developed, allowing the wearer to easily move audio, data, and power around a garment or textile. These specialized textiles have the potential to keep us connected, informed, and entertained without the need to carry any electronic devices. Interactive touch, voice, and body heat activated wearable electronics are being developed and are gradually appearing on store shelves. The development of these items is fueled by the increasing desire for mobile devices that will allow us to access information anywhere and at anytime.
One of the first efforts in e-textiles, performed at MIT, consisted of conductive metallic organza integrated into fabric to create interactive fabrics. The first interactive fabric was a row and column based musical keyboard. The resulting device was flexible enough to be folded and was capable of emitting the appropriate keyboard notes via external speakers.
TYPES OF SMART TEXTILES
Smart textiles are defined as textiles that can sense and react to environmental conditions or stimuli from mechanical, thermal, chemical, electrical or magnetic sources. They do not have electronic component embedded in them. They are made up of Thermo regulating, Chromic, Luminescent or Conductive materials.
Light Reflecting Fabric:
A technology has been created to convert proprietary materials into miniature reflectors that, when imbedded into fabric (Figure 4) by the millions, reflect oncoming light, such as automobile headlights, in a way that illuminates the full silhouette of a person, bicycle or any other object.
Thermal Performance Enhancing Fabric:
Hydro weave provides extraordinary protection against heat, actively cooling the wearer through evaporation, and helping to maintain the core body temperature in high-heat environments It is a three-layer design that combines special hydrophilic and hydrophobic fibers into a fibrous batting core. The batting is sandwiched between a breathable outer shell fabricanda thermally conductive, inner lining.(Figure 5)
Hydrophilic fabrics attract moisture and elongate. These fabrics may become unstable and puddle, sag, or ripple when the humidity reaches 40%. Some natural hydrophilic fibers, such as wool, cotton and linen, may return to normal size and shape when humidity levels drop. Hydrophobic fibers such as polyester, acrylic and modacrylic, have poor absorbency and are, therefore, stable.
Bio-mimic Fabrics:
Smart and intelligent textiles/materials can be defined as the materials and structures which can sense and/or respond to the environmental conditions or stimuli. If we are successful in harnessing bio inspired approaches to smart fabric design which can perform sensing and actuation, we might be able to create intelligent apparel which is currently considered as science fiction. In biological world, there are many examples of sensing and actuation via mechanical movement or structure–function relationship models, applying a set of external stimuli and responses which provide a robust paradigm to design artificial intelligent materials.
MAKING OF E-TEXTILES
The tactile and aesthetic properties of textile and apparel products are important to consumers. Many are reluctant to wear bulky gadgetry or have wires and hard plastic cases containing electronics against their bodies. In the effort to develop lighter more appealing wearable devices, conductive materials are being used to transform traditional textile and apparel products into fashionable, desirable, lightweight, wireless wearable computing devices. A material, such as metallic and optical fibers, conductive threads, yarns, fabrics, coatings and inks are being used to supply conductivity and create wireless textile circuitry.
Metallic and Optical fibers:
Electronic textiles can be created by using minute electrically conductive fibers. Electrically conductive fibers can be classified into two general categories, those that are naturally conductive and those that are specially treated to create conductivity. Naturally, conductive fibers or metallic fibers are developed from electrically conductive metals such as ferrous alloys, nickel, stainless steel, titanium, aluminum, copper, and carbon. Metal fibers are very thin metal filaments, with diameters ranging from 1 to 80 microns (μm).