Intelligent Textiles, Soft Products

Carl André Nørstebø

Department of Product Design
NTNU, Norwegian University of Science and Technology

ABSTRACT

The first section deals with the vast field of material alternatives and properties designers have today. We
are faced with thousands of materials that completely lack reference. Material gain intelligence, and it is
predicted that all our surroundings soon will be controlled by invisible, intelligent devices. The second
section demonstrates the advantages of integrating intelligent systems in our clothing. Here the link is
made between human skin qualities and intelligent textile. Section three provides an overview of the
different types of intelligent textiles and some of its application areas. What could be considered
intelligent is discussed in the beginning of this section.

The paper wishes to focus on electronic and interactive textiles, therefore the whole of section four is
dedicated to this. Definitions, alternatives, advantages and things you need to make a fully flexible
interactive textile, are included here. The whole article focuses much on wearable computing, but in
section five, other areas of applications are looked upon.

The paper wishes to give knowledge of where these research technologies are today and also give a good
overview of the intelligent textiles that exist. The viewpoint is technical, leaving e.g. social changes,
cultural references, economy and ergonomic aspects to other papers.

KEYWORDS

Wearable Computing, Ambient Intelligence, Intelligence, Phase Change, Shape Memory, Chromic,
Electronic textile, Flexible Interactive Products.

1. INTRODUCTION

Technology is getting smaller and faster and we all located in space, tend to flow through time.” [1].
know the speed of this development is increasing. These materials can interact, communicate and
We see an ongoing miniaturization and production sense. Miniaturization not only means the
of materials equipped with special properties. It is production of smaller components, but the
possible to integrate properties of sensitivity, elimination of components. Mechanisms, that
information and intelligence into single materials. previously had to be manufactured by different
materials and as separate objects, can now be made
1.1 Intellectualization of materials of one single material. Examples of this reduction
of components and matter are; a light bulb where
The materials of our surroundings are being the separate materials are replaced by a single
“intellectualized”. Whereas, in the past, we needed electroluminescent surface, a complex sensor
several components to satisfy a certain function, system replaced by a piezoelectric film and the
technology today has allowed us to satisfy the same mechanical keyboard replaced by the membrane
function with less components. “The new keyboard.
generation of objects, rather than being solidly

Intelligent textiles, soft products 1

Formerly people had a traditional relationship with the very goal of our knowledge based society to
materials, but new materials do not have a known integrate smart technology into our surroundings.
image of themselves. People have had to change "Society in the next 10 to 15 years will involve
from perceiving with cultural and physical depth to people being surrounded by electronic gadgets with
perceiving appearances. Therefore materials and ambient intelligence," says Werner Weber, senior
objects today are not what they actually are, but director of corporate research and emerging
what they seem to be and the performance they technologies at Infineon Technologies AG of
offer. Their true form (the image that they impress Munich, Germany. Most people agree with him -
in our minds) does not correspond to their actual that technology will continue to become less and
physical form, but rather the form of relations to less visible to us.
which they imply [1].
We have seen this intelligence in commercials and
Materials have moved from being a specific piece movies (Minority report, Blade Runner). We also
(to a craftsman) to a set of controlled properties (to have seen attempts been made in realized projects
a machine or a designer), an abstract model (Philips, Telenor). A typical thing is voise
characterized by parameters and their relationships commands. This technology can enable you to
with each other. When selecting material, there is control your house appliances, such as saying
no single, obvious choice. This “hyper-selection” is “Open the windows”, “Turn on the oven, 200
not even the end of it. We are moving into an era degrees”. Your surroundings will know the
where you can just order an appropriate material situation. And your clothes can also be context
from your set of demands. These ”made-to-order aware. As we will see in the next sections, wearable
materials” can not exist independently of the object computers can contribute to the vision of an
and the manufacturing process. Often the material ambient intelligence.
is even established at the moment in which the
finished product is produced. 2. WEARABLE COMPUTING

The question remains: Is this liberating the designer The mobility aspect of wearables is what makes it
or just making things far too complex? The totality unique as a medium for communication. Today,
of a process is essential. Manufacturers, product mobility is a fundamental aspect of many services
developers and specialized professionals have to and devices. There is an almost unlimited number
work very close. While some have the deep vertical of application ideas, e.g. in the fields of health,
knowledge, designers should have a wide horizontal knowledge and entertainment. Health applications
one. include the monitoring of ill or high-risk persons,
people exposed to extreme conditions or people
Manzini [1] compares the designer with a surfer; the doing sports. This also applies to therapy and
wave of material transformation can be experienced improvement of physical abilities. A wearable
as a heavy and uncontrollable force. However, the computer is always on, should not hinder the user’s
high wave also provides vast opportunities for activities, can be aware of the user’s situation and
those who dare to ride it correctly. You cannot can display relevant information, augmenting ones
influence the wave too much, but rather maintain view of reality. The vision for wearable computing
your individual control. One should not is to be an integrated part of our everyday clothing
underestimate the knowledge of the technology’s serving us as intelligent personal assistants.
internal currents; it is the base of creativity.
In all sections, links are more or less made to
1.2 Ambient Intelligence clothing because it is a natural and obvious starting
point for textiles. Smart garments are intelligent
Our everyday life is being more and more regulated products that provide platforms for the
by intelligent devices. Is slowly changing the way we development of new innovative applications (more
live. Making a system of intelligent objects is one of in section 5). The first wearable computers were
the most important trends in contemporary developed for navigation and maintenance tasks.
engineering and design. Not only is it the priority There are also military applications as body-worn
area of many companies, many even claim that it is computational resources for soldiers. They need

Intelligent textiles, soft products 2

intelligent textiles for uniforms to protect soldiers in 2.3 Skin
extreme weather; constantly monitoring of the
soldiers’ physical conditions. Some even claim Clothes are worn almost all the time, but skin is
automatic healing of wounds. Other outfits have ever-present. I want to mention the qualities of
the ability to adapt their colour to the surroundings skin, to illustrate how and to what extent we try
for camouflage purposes. The tendency is and has imitate nature (complex and perfect) with the
always been that innovations are made in the products we create. Skin is a flexible multilayered,
military- or aerospace industry. They have a lot of multipurpose organ. It is heterogeneous, shifting
money and are considered the most important areas from thick to thin, tight to loose, lubricated to dry,
of research and progress. However, they have also across the landscape of the body. The thick parts
come to realize the advantages of sharing (under our feet) are built up with dead cells as a
knowledge and cooperating with other reaction to mechanical stress. The skin also has
companies/industries. Wearable computing is elastic parts (elbow) and parts packed with nerves
predicted to have a future in daily life acting as a (inside the nose).
more general-purpose system. It is knowledge-gathering, responds to heat and
cold, pleasure and pain. It is both living and dead,
As we will see, various efforts have been made. The self-repairing (the amazing ability of scar tissue to
biggest challenge for the designer is to make them pull together the edges of a wound), self-replacing
comfortable for the user. and full of nerves and capillaries [4]. It is important
But it is even more interesting when electronics and as a barrier, a container and biochemical
textile are one material. We will get back to this in manufacturer. Skin protects the body from
section 4.1, after comparing fabrics with human infection, harmful radiation and mechanical and
skin qualities. This includes discussing intelligence electrical forces. It maintains body temperature and
and examining some categories of smart textiles. fluid balance, absorbing vitamins and cleaning cells.
It is our largest organ. It contains nerve endings,
2.2 Why clothing which provides the sense of touch. It
communicates emotional, physical states (blush,
Clothing is personal, comfortable, close to the body blanch, goose pimples, sweat, blue with cold, red
and used almost anywhere and anytime. Most of us with anger) and communicates through hormonal
do not walk around dressed like Adam or Eve, we signals. Water-repellant and inflammatory response,
wear clothes or cover in other textiles from day are other intelligent qualities. Yes, skin is definitely
one. Everybody knows how to use clothing and intelligent.
integrated smart systems can serve us in a very
unobtrusive and natural way. Our capabilities can Human beings tend to have an image of things as
be enhanced without any conscious thought or content with a shell around, because we ourselves
effort required. Clothing is an extension to our are containers. We see, think and speak about
physiological characteristics and is very close to the objects from our human viewpoint. Another thing
body, enableing an intimate man-machine is that we try to make clothing fabrics that has the
interaction. Your suit, dress or jacket can be a extensional qualities of our skin. Many clothing
communication medium, an information platform. manufacturers claim that their product breathe,
They can also promote safety or provide working sense and lives, like it is “your second skin”. Or
aid. We surround ourselves with textiles. So much like Eleksen, producer of a sensatory fabric [5] says
of our environment is already made of textiles; we it in their product catalogue: “Elektex is like skin;
have a natural relationship with it. There already the fabric can sense the location as well as pressure
exists huge amount of information about the body from human touch. The skin is soft and also
and clothing, like e.g. ‘body maps’ of stress, wear flexible. The skin is itself intelligent.” In a fashion
and tear [2] and where to place non-textile devices technology school, a whole course is even named
on the body [20]. “The Epidermis as Metaphor” [27]. Epidermis is
the layer of skin which we see and touch. They
Mann [3] regards wearable computers as a ‘second continue saying that “textile technologies enrich the
brain’ and their sensory modalities as additional cognitive characteristics of our epidermis”.
senses augmenting human intellect.

Intelligent textiles, soft products 3

Living skin is also grown in laboratories; it is a ability to adapt effectively to the environment,
medical product (e.g. Apligraf). But artificial (not either by making a change in oneself or by changing
living) skin also exists, as temporary substitutes, the environment or finding a new one. (...)
often as barriers, with chemically engineered Effective adaptation draws upon a number of
materials that mimic real skin. In a specific two cognitive processes, such as perception, learning,
layer artificial skin, the synthetic outer layer memory, reasoning, and problem solving. This
prevents infection and regulates fluid loss. The definition is from the psychologist’s viewpoint, but
inner layer arranges for the new natural skin cells to still holds up for human skin.
grow. There actually are quite a few alternatives in
the wound closure business. There are no definite law about what is considered
The outer layer of our skin consists of dead cells. intelligent. In addition, things have varying degrees
Death is not a sudden happening, it is an ongoing of intelligence. People tend to use the terms way
process ( Taylor M C, Hiding, 1997) and to prevent too much, especially for marketing purposes. Here
these changes and other threats, the first protective are four quite similar explanations of intelligent
shelters and garments were made of animal skins. textiles:
We use animal skin today as well, but it is still not
our second skin. But of course: “One can imagine They are materials that react to impulses
clothing that senses and adapts to our surroundings without the need for us to control them [7].
much like a second skin.” [9] They are able to respond to its
environment [8].
3. INTELLIGENT TEXTILES In garment they react to impulses coming
from outside or inside [9].
Materials are considered to be textile when they
They react automatically to some kind of
consist of drapeable structures that can be
stimuli [10].
processed on textile machinery. Usually textiles are
made of fine and flexible fibres and threads that
Intelligent textiles are fibres and fabrics with a
have a high length/diameter ratio. The hierarchical
significant and reproducible automatic change of
structure are made of bundles of fibres are twisted
properties due to defined environmental influences.
to create yarns, which again are e.g. woven or
knitted into fabrics. However, textiles can also
Other textiles that are more passive can be called
contain non-woven structures as membranes and
high performance textiles. Microfibres are very
foils. Ready-made textile products include ropes,
passive, but waterproof, but at the same time
ribbons, fabrics and also three-dimensional
permeable to water vapour.
products like clothing [3].

3.1 Intelligence. What is concidered intelligent

Microfibers
What does it mean when we say that skin is truly
intelligent? It does not have a brain. Intelligence is
described in the Encyclopaedia Britannica as “the

Intelligent textiles, soft products 4

Wearable Computing is different form smart inside. However, it can suddenly get too hot and
clothing. Wearable computing is used for sweaty. Then the jacket will breathe due to active
everything you wear that has some element of thermal insulation of PCM. When the body
electronics. Smart can be interpreted as either clever produces more heat than the jacket can release
or as fashionable/chic. Some say that smart (heavy activity), heat is absorbed and stored in the
clothing can be a combination of both meanings. PCM. And when too much body heat disappears
The most typical way is to put electronic devices, through the jacket (light activities), the PCM will
like mobiles and MD players, into pockets. This emit stored heat. It is constantly recharging and
should be called an intelligent solution, but never releasing heat during varying activity.
intelligent textiles when it is not including textile
which themselves are defined as intelligent. But it is When designing this, one has to take into
still wearable computing. consideration the generated human body heat, heat
flux, level of activity, way of use, duration, quantity
Intelligent textiles can be divided into of PCM and the relationships between these
these groups [9]: factors. Considerations for the characteristics of a
PCM:
Phase Change Material
Shape Memory Materials Heat storage capacity and quantity
Chromic Materials Textile substrate/carrier construction
Other intelligent fabrics (apart from breath ability and flexibility;
Electronic/Conductive textiles thickness and density of microcapsules)
PCM temperature range should match the
application temperature range
3.2 Phase Change Material (PCM) Suitable location in the garment

When you warm a material, it absorbs heat while its The designers at Norrøna [11] have tested some of
temperature is rising continuously. When cooling it, the most known PCMs, like Outlast [12] and Frisby
the heat stored inside, is released into its [13]. Their experience is that it is expensive, and not
environment through a reverse cooling process, able to come close to their claims. “Lots of money
where the temperature decreases [9]. A normal is being pumped into the marketing. The phase
textile absorbs 1 kJ/kg with the increase of 1 degree change does occur, but not as controlled as they
Celsius. Due to a melting process during heat claim”, says Brad Boren at Norrøna, still keeping
absorption and crystallisation during release of heat, his optimistic view of the future.
the temperature of a PCM and its surroundings
remains constant all the time. Therefore a PCM can 3.3 Shape Memory Materials (SMM)
absorb much more heat than a normal one. It
functions as heat storage. When absorbing e.g. 200 SMMs can deform from the current shape to a
kJ, a normal textile would increase its temperature previously set shape, usually due to the action of
by 200 degree Celsius, whilst the temperature of a heat. You may have seen this on TV; that a strip of
PCM will not change. Because of its solid/liquid metal is heated with a lighter and finds its original
state, the PCM in textiles is “enclosed into small shape. In garments the scale is smaller. When these
plastic spheres with diameters of only a few macro SSMs are activated (at a certain activation
meters”, called PCM-microcapsules. temperature), the air gaps between close layers of
clothing are increased. This is to give better
Think of a typical jacket for sporting activities. It insulation and protection against extremes of heat
should keep a balance in temperature at any or cold. In clothing, the temperatures for the shape
moment and intensity in activity, but many fail to memory effect to be activated should be near body
do so. PCM is therefore used as thermo regulating temperature.
in active-wear. When you get dressed for some
sporting activity on a cold winter night, the layers of SM Polymers are more flexible than the alloys.
air between the garment layers keeps the heat Thermoplastic polyurethane films have been made

Intelligent textiles, soft products 5

which can be put in between layers of clothing. that the chromic materials will be a short boom.
When the temperature of the outer layer of clothing But the accuracy and endurance of the materials are
has fallen sufficiently, the film responds so that the all the time being improved. The different types are
air gap between the layers of clothing becomes classified by the stimuli affecting them:
broader. This out-of-plane deformation must be
strong enough to resist the weight of the clothing
and the movements of the wearer. If the outer layer
of clothing becomes warmer, the deformation must
be reversed. Some alloys are capable of a two-way
activation, triggered by changeable weather and
varying physical activity.

Shape memory alloys are also used in various

domestic appliances, such as shower mixer valves
and valves for the safety shut of fuel lines in case of
fire. Like other intelligent materials, the shape Figure 1; External stimuli energies and their corresponding
memory alloys can also contribute to the chromic name.
miniaturization of equipment and systems. This
decreases the number of parts required and extend Number one is not much used in textile. And its
the life expectancy. characteristics depend highly on a liquid which has
to be melted into the fabric. When exposed to
Both PCMs and SMMs in clothing depend on the ultraviolet light, some fibres emit fluorescent colour
physical activity and surrounding conditions in the dark. The threads are supplied with a mix of
(temperature, humidity). The human body produces liquid with fluorescent paint. The dyes are
a span from 100 W of heat (rest) to 1000 W entrapped in microcapsules, applied to fabric like a
(maximum physical performance). Our body pigment in a resin binder [9]. The selected
temperature increases with the heat production. wavelength of light reflected depends on the
The textile reacts through perspiration in order to arrangement of molecules or liquid crystals, which
withdraw energy by evaporation and thus cooling. again varies with temperature.
Reduced thermal insulation in clothing during hard
activities makes it possible for some of the heat to Solvate chromism is normally used for swimsuits.
escape. The thicker the fabric, the better insulation, Other materials have paint which can store light.
but the weight and freedom of movement have to Applications for this are e.g. working clothes in bad
be taken into account. After all, comfort is the most light circumstances or as guiding arrows during a
important user demand in the clothing industry power failure. Research has been done to change
[11]. the optical transparency of materials by application
of an electrical or magnetic field.
Diaplex [15] names itself as “the intelligent
material” and claims that thermal Application examples [4]:
vibration/movement occurs within the molecule
structure when temperature rises over a Karim Rashid designed a table where the surface
predetermined activation point. This creates micro changes colour in response to heat. This serves as a
pores and membrane permeability that allow vapour visual index of the activities on it (hands, elbows,
and body heat to escape. cups)

A ibicycle frame created by Marc Newsonis is

3.4 Chromic Materials
coated with tritium, a photo luminescent paint that
Chromic Materials are also called chameleon fibres, provides a beautiful and traffic-safe glow in the
because they can change their colour according to dark.
external conditions. These materials have mostly
been used in fashion, to create funny colour An interactive wood surface/table is made of
changing designs. Because of this, some people fear electric plywood:. Ultra-thin polymers are layered

Intelligent textiles, soft products 6

between the laminations. The film conducts projects are a collaboration between Mac and
electricity, information and electroluminescent light. Burton [17], IBM Research with MIT [18] and a
The light charges a Memory Blotter with a concrete example from Finland; Clothing for the
phosphor that absorbs and recycles the light. When arctic environment [19]. It seems like all big
the EL light is off, the MB glows. Digital tools can companies have done research and product
be plugged into the wood surface and some are concepts for this kind of wearable computing.
even embedded into the desk, activated by touch Gemperle [20] describes how the shape and
through a springy, resilient wood veneer. placement of such devices can be improved in
terms of wearability.
“Increasingly, the digital realm penetrates and
manifests itself trough the physical realm of 4.1 Electronic Textiles
materials – unlike initial predictions, where the
virtual was seen to be different from the physical.” But humans prefer to wear textiles, as they are
(Sheila Kennedy). She made the Chameleon cloth, flexible, soft, lightweight, breathable, robust and
a curtain with photo luminescent pigments in fibres. washable. So the idea emerged to develop fibres
Light is stored and the emission is designed as a and fabrics that can be used for electronic
light pattern. functions. A suitable definition considers electronic
textiles as materials with electronic functionality and
Instead of having a complex mechanical roller blind at the same time textile characteristic. This makes a
for the windows, it could be replaced by an electro- versatile combination of physical and electrical
or photo chromic plate glued directly on the properties. Electrically conductive fibres can be
window. This is another example of performance made by filling synthetic fibres with carbon or metal
integration in materials. particles, coating fibres with conductive polymers
or metal or using continuous short fibres that are
4. ELECTRONIC TEXTILE SYSTEMS completely made of conductive material. These
fibres can be woven, knitted or embroidered into
“Electronic” means that a system is able to fabrics.
exchange and process information. If textiles had
the ability to record, analyse, store, send and display There are several companies and trademarks
data, a new dimension of intelligent high-tech offering these materials. But all textiles have the
clothing could be reached [2]. same basic properties: Lightweight, durable,
flexible, cost competitive with ability to be crimped,
The wearability totally depends on the way of soldered and subjected to textile processing.
integration into clothing:
Electronic textiles have already found their
miniaturization of electronic components applications in EMI shielding. If the fabric is
and attachment to textiles covering from most sides, it offers an excellent
development of textiles with electronic protection against this electromagnetic interference.
functions It is also highly accurate, because of the constant
improving of fine fibres. It is light, which makes it
Most of the wearable computers on the market up attractive for aerospace. And it offers comp ability
until today still consist of bulky and rigid boxes and with standard braiding equipment. (Competing
are portable machines rather than a comfortable alternatives with similar characteristics, like printed
part of the clothing. The textiles just serve as a membrane, conductive or pressure sensitive ink or
carrier of conventional cables, special connectors piezo films, have limitations when it comes to
and miniaturized electronic devices. Recently, flexibility and they are still on an experimental
examples which include both points above have level.)
been commercialized. A typical example of this is
the Philips and Levi’s collaboration [16]. It is a However, there are some requirements for
jacket with fully integrated communications and embedding electrical functions in clothing (as
entertainment system (earphones, microphone, mentioned earlier); flexibility and comfort are the
remote control, mobile phone, mp3 player). Other most important. In addition to conductivity, fabrics

Intelligent textiles, soft products 7

have to have good process ability and wear ability: 4.2 Textile networks
The fibres have to:
On-body data and power transfer in wearable
- maintain their functionality despite of repeated systems can be wired or wireless. ETH Zurich
typical textile handling, like weaving, wearing, explains that textile network means that fabrics are
washing and wrinkling (the four Ws). Wearing used to replace conventional wires, whole circuit
includes constant motion and stress from body boards or antennas [2]. Extensive studies were
movement, perspiration, body heat etc. carried out to measure and model the high
frequency properties of conductive fabrics for
- be fine and to some extent elastic in order to optimising communication networks in textiles.
be comfortable to wear. Their aim is to “replace conventional wires and
even high performance circuit boards with textile
- have a low mechanical resistance to bending fabrics”.
and shearing so that they can be easily deformed
and draped. The more the textiles are close to the MIT Media Lab, E-broidery project [18]:
body the more they have to be flexible and Conductor lines were realized by embroidering
lightweight. metal fibres or weaving silk threads that were
wrapped in thin copper foil. The main drawback
As we have seen, these demands are not fulfilled by was the need for protection against shorting and
all the other data- and power-devices that are corrosion, as the conductive fibres are not
needed to construct a fully flexible electronic insulated.
garment.

Conductivity can be electrical or optical. Optical

fibres have the advantages of no shorts, no
corrosion and no parasitic field effects. The cost is
high due to expensive light sources and
transceivers. Most plastic optical fibres are stiff and
allow a limited bending radius and are difficult to
weave or knit. People are working on overcoming
these challenges.

Electrical conductors are easier to handle in textile

fabrication processes. But metal, carbon and
conductive polymers are also quite rigid and brittle
materials. They are heavier than most textile fibres,
making homogeneous blends difficult to produce.

According to ETH Zurich [2] these are the

components of a wearable system. These functions
are combined to form services:

Network unit: transmission of data within the E-broidery project, Courtesy of MIT
wearable computer and to external networks
Sensor unit: registration of biometric and The Wearable Motherboard [21] had a garment
environmental data and of user commands including electrically conductive fibres and plastic
Processing unit: calculating, analysing and optic fibres for transferring information from
storing data sensors to processing units. Each electrical fibre
Power unit: supplying energy (e.g. stainless steel, copper or doped nylon fibre) is
insulated with a PVC or polyethylene coating.
Action unit: adapting to situations, creating an
effect on the user, displaying data

Intelligent textiles, soft products 8

Other projects include in-woven mobile antennas 4.4 Textile processor
on the large fabric surface, and wireless
communication infrastructure between various Processing includes arithmetic operations and
pieces of clothing (which can be used to storage of data. Challenges such as stability, short
communicate with chips that are embedded e.g. in lifetime, slow switching speed have recently been
personal items). overwon, to create organic devices like electro
active polymer transistors and batteries. (They are
4.3 Sensors and actuators actually threads with transistor functionality.)
Flexible chips (e.g. silicon) can be attached to
One can use textiles to transform signals in two textiles but they are not textile themselves.
ways:
4.5 Power supply
Sensor: Transformation of physical phenomena
into processable electrical signals. The power supply is the heaviest part the biggest
Actuator: Transformation of electrical signals into problem, says Brad Boren at Norrøna [11]. Two of
physical phenomena. the most known approaches to develop new power
supply technologies, are lithium polymer battery
Sensors can be used to measure biometric or and micro fuel cells.
environmental data but also to act as an input
interface. Actuators can adapt themselves to a Sunlight, body temperature and body motion are
situation, affect the human body or serve as a alternative energy sources on the body that can be
display. transformed into electrical energy. Also in this case,
one should differ between flexible and textile,
SOFTswitch [22] is one example of a textile because there are more efforts to mount flexible
pressure sensor. It is made of conductive fabrics energy supplies onto textiles than inventing pure
with a thin layer of elasto resistive composite that textile power supply.
reduces its electric resistance (resistive change)
when it is compressed. Infineon [24] uses the temperature difference
between the outside and the inside of clothing,
Another solution has two conductive fabric layers which produce a power of a few microwatts per
separated by a nonconductive layer, where pressure cm2.
can create a contact in the holes of the mesh in the Thin film solar cells can be made on flexible
middle layer. surfaces such as plastics. The flexible solar cell
technology has also been adapted to fibre form.
In the Wearable Motherboard [21], plastic optical The efficiency of these alternative energy sources
fibres detect damage (broken paths) in the fabric needs to be improved. Creating components that
and can give information about the location of e.g. are wirelessly powered by an electric field in the
bullet penetration. These sensors can also be made environment is another interesting approach.
to detect chemical, biological and thermal hazards.
Lunar Design [25] has with its BLU jackets
So-called ‘electro active polymers’ (e.g. electro predicted a near future with thin, cheap and flexible
chromic material, section 3.4) and can be used as digital displays. Another object designed by Murray
sensors or actuators. and Allen “seeks to merge the softness of skin with
the hard lines of consumer electronics” [4].
France Telecom [23] developed a display made of
optical fibres woven into a fabric. The pixel number
was just 64 and the fibre diameter 0.5 mm due to
the mechanical limitations of the optical fibres.
Textile displays also can be realized with conductive
fibres covered with a fine layer of an electro-
luminescent material.

Intelligent textiles, soft products 9

5. FROM CLOTHING TO OTHER SOFT
PRODUCTS

Ellen Lupton says in her book Skin [4], that “in the
1920s/30s, the pioneers of industrial design created
hard shells around the mechanical guts of
appliances. Today, designers construct skins for
objects that are warmer, more responsive to touch.
Mario Bellini expanded the paradigm of industrial
design with his calculator for Olivetti in 1972. The
mechanical keys were wrapped in soft, elastic
rubber membrane (figure 2).

Elektex [5] is an active skin which translates Claes Oldensburg, Soft Typewriter, 1963
electronic impulses into digital data. It recognizes
the contact point and sends signals to e.g. a CPU. It
is less than 1 mm thick and can sense location on
three axes (X,Y,Z). It recognizes the contact point
of touch and can use this digital information. They
predict that “eventually, the material touches the
lives of people that don’t even know it’s there”.

“This product landscape intentionally avoids the

obvious and over-theorised applications for soft
technology: wearables. (...) Elektex has the potential
to make a bigger impact on all areas of design, not
just clothing.” Elektex [5]. First of all, it is
important to take advantage of the experience
obtained in wearables to use it on other
Mario Bellini, Olivetti Calculator, 1972
applications. But it is also about time to challenge
what has become the standard construction/design
of interactive products with electronics. Most
products bury technology inside a hard shell, which
in most cases consist of many materials. Now
products can be made of the same material as the
interface. This also offers many advantages for
sustainability and economy; by reduce the number
of materials and using less matter. We remember
Manzini talking about these single materials that can
perform many tasks. Elektex qwerty-keyboard

5.1 Interaction and interfaces

The role of human interaction is in a way

diminishing. Humans are becoming less of a part of
the functioning technology.

Both our skin and the skin of products are

interfaces between body and product. The skin is
the body’s largest sense organ, registrating
temperatures, pleasure and pain and an infinite SoftSwitch qwerty-keyboard

Intelligent textiles, soft products 10

range of textures. It is the plane of contact between inside fabric-reinforced structures that monitor
things and people. The skin of mechanical and mechanical, acoustic, electric, magnetic and thermal
electronic devices is the point of interface with perturbations. This is done by detecting the
users, where the surface also has the aesthetical wavelength-shift induced by strain or temperature
identity of the object and contains its controls. change.

Some fabrics are coated with a thin conducting

polymer layer that possess strain and temperature
sensing properties and also actuating properties.
These fabrics contain fibre bundles that contract
and relax under electrical control and can be used
e.g. in a sensor glove as a tactile output interface.

The ability to dispense with fixed castings, rigid

mountings and inflexible substrates facilitates new
radical possibilities in flexible, user-friendly
interfacing.

To use this material today is not easy. According to

the administration of Eleksen on the phone, the
material has to be customized to the product. And
they prefer collaboration with the biggest
companies, rather than selling material samples to
other interested people without knowing what they
will do with it. It is quite common in this industry,
that companies keep a lot of information to
themselves. Amongst racing competition and
copycats, control is better kept like this. Their
advertising is meant for other large industries. Their
collaboration with IDEO, Fabrications [5], resulted
in different soft telephones, qwerty-keyboards and
remote controls. They were meant to provoke the
next evolution of products.
Elektex/IDEO flexible mobile phone
5.2 Other non-clothing textile applications

Zapper cushion [26]: A pillow made of touch

sensitive fabric, replacing traditional remote
controls (for children and people with motor-skill
problems).

Hospital beds with linens that detect your

position, and can e.g. prevent bedsores.

Smart upholstery in cars that ensures proper

inflation of airbags. Textiles can also sense and
remember your movements to automatically
regulate the seating position.

Sensory textiles built into airplanes, roads, bridges

and buildings to give early warning of potential
catastrophic failures. Use of fibre optic sensors

Intelligent textiles, soft products 11

6. FLEXIBLE ELECTRONIC TEXTILE
FUTURE / CONCLUSION

A shift in consumer values has occurred; instead of We have seen that electronics can not only be
wanting the finest natural materials, people look at attached to textiles but also realized in form of
the engineered beauty, innovative design and the textile structures. Today, some performances
intelligent aspects of products. cannot be compared with conventional computer
technology. There are also some limitations
We are still far from taking full advantage of the concerning mass production and reliability.
potential of information technology services, but
the future for fully soft electonic products is very In the future it could become quite difficult to
attractive. And it requires a different, but interesting clearly separate electronic textiles from the
design approach. The geometric and mechanical aforementioned method of miniaturization plus
properties of textiles (large flexible area) differ attachment, because computers could be
strongly from conventional electronics and can miniaturized until they are molecule-sized. In this
create new computer designs and architectures. case ‘attachment’ to fibres or fabrics would also
lead to what we define as electronic textiles.
Firms that understand how to incorporate emerging
IET technologies into their new product strategies Plastic was a revolution, and nano-technology will
will establish and sustain financial and competitive probably be the next big change. There are a lot of
advantages. thoughts about what could be done if we were able
to manipulate, rearrange and build from molecules
To take the next step towards electronic clothing and atoms. Having a machine that changes a bicycle
(made of electronic textiles) research has to be tire into meat, self-cleaning carpets, changing state
carried out in the following areas: from rigid to flexible and visa versa.

clothing technology for manufacturing 1 nanometer is equal to 1 billionth of a meter. A

testing under wearing conditions and human hair diameter would have space for 12.000
washing/cleaning treatments such particles. It hs unlimited potential and is called
the key technology of the 21st century.
investigation of reliability
The focus of nanotechnology is now in California’s
Silicon Valley. “There is no doubt it will be taking
what we wear to the next level in terms of
durability, comfort and safety. They have already
approved the first textiles that permanently repel
fleas, ticks and other insects which have been
known to contribute to the spread of disease.”
(Brad Boren, Norrøna)

Invisible Jacket

Intelligent textiles, soft products 12

REFERENCES

[1] Manzini E, The materials of Invention, Arcadia SRL, Milano, 1986.

[2] The Wearable Computing Lab at ETH Zurich, Switzerland, www.wearable.ethz.ch

Kirstein T, Cottet D, Grzyb J, Tröster G, Wearable Computing Systems – Electronic Textiles, Woodhead
Publishing Ltd., 2003.

[3] Mann S, Wearable Computing: Toward Humanistic Intelligence, IEEE Intelligent Systems, May/June 2001.

[4] Lupton E, Skin: Surface Substance + Design, Princeton Architectural Press, New York, 2002.

[5] Elektex, IDEO, Fabrications, product presentation book, UK, 2001.

www.ideo.com
www.elektex.com

[6] Encyclopaedia Britannica Online, http://search.eb.com

[7] Conversation with Mette Biering, Norwegian Clothing Designer specialized in fibre technology.

[8] Dan Sumption, Smart Threads, 2002, www.sumption.org

[9] Institute of Fiber Material Science, Tampere University of Technology, Finland.

www.tut.fi/public/index.cfm?mainsel=2148&sel=2465&Show=2148&siteid=54
www.tut.fi/units/ms/teva/projects/intelligenttextiles/index.htm

[10] Soldiers System Center, US Army, www.natick.army.mil

[11] Conversations with Brad Boren, Product Developer at Norrøna.

[12] www.outlast.com

[13] www.frisby.com

[14] www.hydroweave.com

[15] www.diaplex.com

[16] ICD+ and Wearable Electronics, www.design.philips.com/pressroom/pressinfo/article/icd.html, 2000.

[17] www.burton.com
http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2003/jan/07burtonipod.html

[18] Post E R, Orth M, Russo P R and Gershenfeld N, E-Broidery: Design and Fabrication of Textile-Based
Computing, IBM Systems Journal, 2000.
MIT, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, www.mit.edu

[19] Rantanen J, Impiö J, Karinsalo T, Malmivaara M and Reho A, Smart Clothing Prototype for the Arctic
Environment, Personal and Ubiquitous Computing, 2002.

Intelligent textiles, soft products 13

[20] Gemperle F, Kasabach C, Stivoric J, Bauer M and Martin R, Design for Wearability, In Proc. 2nd
International Symposium on Wearable Computing, Pittsburgh, USA, 1998.

[21] Park S, Mackenzie K and Jayaraman S, The Wearable Motherboard: A Framework for Personalized Mobile
Information Processing (PMIP), In Proc. ACM/IEEE Design Automation Conference, New Orleans,
USA, 2002.

[22] SoftSwitch Electronic Fabrics, www.softswitch.co.uk

[23] Deflin E, Bright Optical Fibre Fabric - A New Flexible Display, powerpoint presentation, 2001.
http://193.48.37.110/Poly/ATC6.pdf

[24] Infineon Technologies, http://www.infineon.com/cgi/ecrm.dll/jsp/home.do?lang=EN

[25] Lunar Design, www.lunar.com

[26] Dreamweavers, National Graphic Magazine,

http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0301/feature3/index.html

[27] Fashion Department, Parsons School of Design, http://a.parsons.edu/~fashiontech

Sensatex, www.sensatex.com

Georgia Institute of Technology, www.cc.gatech.edu

FiCom (FiberComputing), Disappearing Computer Initiative, www.fibercomputing.net

Braddock S E, O’Mahony M, Techno Textiles: Revolutionary Fabrics for Fashion and Design, Thames &
Hudson, London, 1998.

Journal of Future Materials, Sept/Oct, 2003.

Intelligent textiles, soft products 14