Smart textiles

A photovoltaic textile for portable solar devices has been developed by Saint-Gobain Adfors Canada of Midland, Ontario, Canada.

 A cost-efficient and scaleable method for producing graphene-based supercapacitors on textile substrates has been developed by researchers at RMIT University in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

Omniphobic textile-based triboelectric nanogenerators (R^F-TENGs) that can produce electricity from human motion have been developed by researchers at Purdue University in West Lafayette,

Seventeen years after it first generated headlines with its Hug Shirt, wearable technology and interactive fashion brand CuteCircuit of London, UK, continues to generate substantial media attention

Researchers at Aalto University of Aalto, Finland, have developed a textile-based solar cell that could be integrated into such as clothing, furniture, sails and curtains.

In the future, marquees, tarpaulins and sun sails may not only protect objects and people from the sun, but might also generate solar power, as large, pliable, textile-based solar cells are current

The smart textiles subcommittee of ASTM International (known as D13.50) has approved its first standard, a compilation of industry terms.

A process to screen-print circuits that are stretchable and washable onto flexible substrates for use in wearable technologies, including medical applications, has been developed by Conductive Tran

A method for manufacturing light-producing automotive interior trim parts has been developed by Benecke-Kaliko of Hanover, Germany.

Cheap and safe charge-storage elements such as capacitors have been fabricated on textiles using nanomaterial inks by researchers at the University of Cambridge in the UK.

The series manufacture of smart textile products was demonstrated during the Techtextil/Texprocess exhibition, held in Frankfurt, Germany, on 14–17 May 2019, where a microfactory could be

As one of Europe’s biggest suppliers of automotive components, with sales of €78.5 billion in 2018, Robert Bosch is actively involved in many projects with Germany’s research institutes.

A group of researchers at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China, has developed a three-dimensional (3D) printer for depositing electrically conductive fibres onto textiles and garments.

A way to protect flexible polymer solar cells and organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) from moisture has been developed by researchers at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KA

An inexpensive smart textile-based device that can help athletes and patients undergoing physical therapy position their arms to improve performance, reduce injury and accelerate recovery has been

Dyed cotton threads that change colour when exposed to a variety of gases have been developed by engineers at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts, USA.

An electrically conductive yarn that can be used to create heating elements in textiles has been developed by Inuheat, a manufacturer of wearable heating solutions based in Hovås, Sweden. 

A Hong Kong-based group of fashion designers, health professionals and a knitting mill have co-developed an award-winning therapeutic support for people with knee injuries or chronic knee condition

Multi-disciplinary research at the University of Southampton in the UK could create smart fabrics capable of emitting light, changing colour and limiting the proliferation of bacteria.

Over the past 18 months, Layer Design has been working with Airbus on the development of the Move seating concept, designed to improve the comfort of economy-class passengers on short-haul flights

Researchers from the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa) and the University of Berne, Switzerland,  are developing smart textile sensors to help prevent the occur

The American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists (AATCC) of Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, reports that it has approved one of the first international standards for electronic te

Microsoft has been working to develop smart textiles for a number of years and has now been awarded a patent for methods of producing textile-base

Details of a geotextile rendered electrically conductive using graphene have been outlined by Imagine Intelligent Materials (IM) of North Geelong, Victoria, Australia.

A carbon nanotube (CNT)-coated fabric that could dynamically regulate the temperature of its wearer is being developed by researchers at the University of Maryland in College Park, USA.

Electrically conductive warp-knitted textiles are currently the subject of extensive development work at Karl Mayer of Obertshausen, Germany.

A method for depositing metals onto fabrics that could be exploited to produce flexible batteries, wireless devices and sensors has been developed by researchers in the UK.

Multi-component piezoelectric fibres consisting solely of polymers have been developed by Arkema of Colombes, France.

A sensing textile that could be used for monitoring civil infrastructure, such as roads, tunnels, pipelines, highways, bridges and railways, has been developed by Saint-Gobain Adfors Canada of Otta

A simple, scalable and cheap method for preparing flexible and stretchable electrically conductive fibres that have potential applications in wearable electronics and smart fabrics has been develop

A solvent made from cellulose has been found to outperform traditional, toxic solvents in the production and dispersion of graphene.

Myant used the Computer Electronics Show (CES) to launch what it describes as the world’s first cuffless blood-pressure monitoring technology, the SKIIN Smart Shirt.

A way to embed miniaturized solar cells into yarn that can then be knitted and woven has been developed by researchers at Nottingham Trent University in the UK. 

The Austrian developer of what is billed as the first truly washable smart sports shirt (The Smart Shirt QUS) has received a 2018 Red Dot Design Concept Award.

The development of electronic products, including smart fabrics, will be increasingly based on organic materials such as bioplastics, say Bio-on and Kartell, two Italian companies that have formed

During the forthcoming ISPO, Karl Mayer will explain how its warp-knitting machinery can incorporate electrically conductive yarns into fabrics.

SKIINCore is a pair of self-heating base layer garments for use in cold weather developed by Myant of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and launched by the company on the crowdfunding website Kickstarter.

Membrane technology that actively draws sweat away from a wearer's inner garments is being used by Swiss sports brand Kjus in its latest ski jacket (7sphere Hydro_Bot). 

BeBop Sensors of Berkeley, California, USA, has been been presented with the Best New Material Award at the IDTechEx Wearable USA 2018 Awards.

Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst in the USA have developed a method for embroidering charge-storing patterns that they claim can be applied to any garment.

A flexible and stretchable fabric-based battery has been developed by researchers at the University of Houston System in Houston, Texas, USA.

Volt Smart Yarns of Hickory, North Carolina, USA, has established a new division in an effort to drive the use its highly conductive yarns for the manufacture of wearable technologies.

A project in the UK aims to accelerate the development of smart clothing.

At its headquarters in Redmond, Washington, USA, computer specialist Microsoft has made a significant investment in textile machinery over the past few years, including weaving and embroidery syste

Liquid X Printed Metals of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, has announced a partnership with its compatriot Bonbouton of New York City to print temperature and pressure sensors directly onto textiles

Algorithms for heart monitoring developed by The Mayo Clinic of Rochester, Minnesota, USA, are to be incorporated into Toronto, Ontario, Canada-based Myant’s smart apparel (

A textile that incorporates lighting for use in civil engineering, agriculture and landscape preservation end-uses has been developed by Beaulieu International of Waregem, Belgium.