Novel fabrication of electronic textiles based wearable technology

This project addresses an opportunity of integrating wearable technology into everyday fashion and apparel design that will ultimately confer comfort and wearability. Its manufacturing process has the potential to build on the UK's long legacy of textile innovation, and hence revive a once-thriving textile industry that will result in socio-economic prosperity.

The manufacturing and export of textiles was Britain's single most important industry; it defined the Victorian era and was the driving force behind the industrial revolution. It achieved this by the revolutionary invention of technologies such as the flying shuttle, stocking frame, spinning jenny, Compton's mule, and the power loom. Consequently, Britain led the world in textile innovation and dominated the global textile industry beyond the industrial revolution and leading up to its Zenith in 1926\.

Subsequently, it went into a systematic decline, and by the 1940's the majority of the industry was decommissioned due to the competitiveness of offshore manufacturing. Currently, China and India are the major exporters of textiles and apparel enjoying the lion's share of a 3 trillion-dollar global market, yet the UK's portion of this is a mere 91 billion dollars, an insignificant contributor considering it was once at the pinnacle.

There are tremendous opportunities in building innovative e-textile garment products that can revolutionize our lifestyles. Amongst the various wearable equipment, electronic textiles (e-textiles) show great potential in the form of functional devices such as sensors, displays, microprocessors, energy storage systems, and communication units that can easily be integrated into textiles.

This project aims to integrate wearable technology into everyday garments through novel materials, textile structures, and fabricating techniques. These techniques upscale the production of smart fashion for humans and significantly reduce the manufacturing cost to a level comparable to fast fashion. Thus, it plans to return onshore manufacturing and revive a once-upon-a-time thriving British textile sector.

In addition to the smart Characteristics of this innovation, the novel construction methods eliminate the use of seams owing to its 3D construction, this improves Ergonomic comfort by increasing factors such as flexion, extension, and abduction. Furthermore, the method enables designers to conceptualize and design with a zero-waste philosophy. This in turn will enable a fully connected digital network for the electronics.

This new technology will be price competitive seeing our industry return to our shores and create yet another revolution in the next chapter of smart fashion, apparel, and footwear.