+plastic electronics

Plastic Electronics in Berlin

I'll be there -- hopefully some of you will be there as well. For those who can't make it, I'll try to post some highlights when I get back (or possibly from on-site if the wireless situation is amenable). See you there!

Fibretronic puts a new spin on Interactive Textiles

Let's face it, most of these garments, bags, etc. that have some degree of added capability (whether by electric controls, solar panels, etc) are pretty expensive...and this is a detriment to the market because it seriously limits your consumer base. Aside from that, I'll wager that individual consumer tastes change at a much more rapid pace than this type of technology can keep pace with. Enter Fibretronic's ConnectedWear...

The idea is that the largest cost drivers (control modules, etc) are separated from the soft-goods and can be purchased separately. So we could theoretically buy several cheaper "enabled" garments and only one control module.

Exactly how much this will lower the barriers to entry for other remains to be seen, but hopefully this will catch on. Anyone else think this is a good idea?

Iverson, Watch Out!

It looks like the "Intelligent Knee Sleeve" from several years ago morphed into an elbow sleeve that basketball and "netball" players can use to help develop their shots. The research behind this started at the Austrailian S&T arm known as CSIRO; we've talked about them before.

This sleeve provides audible feedback to the user as it undergoes mechanical stresses -- in other words, each movement provides a sound. For sports that require a precise and repeatable motion (jumpshot anyone?) the sleeve can be used as a training aid. Earlier applications of the technology were used on knee sleeves to assist users on "landing" after jumping -- probably a little more of a stretch in my eyes. If anyone remembers the presentations from CSRIRO back in 2002-2003, they compiled a bunch of gruesome sports injuries which their research would eventually prevent -- I never saw so many people in a room squirm in their seats in unisom.

We'd love to hear from anyone who has actually used these sleeves as training aids -- it is an interesting concept, but how well does it work?

Inteltex Consortium

So it looks like there is yet another consortium for Smart Textiles in Europe -- not sure what affiliation this has with some of its predecessors, but anyway it is called "Inteltex."



I suggest checking out the website -- let me know if you can find anything in the way of results or at least project descriptions, etc. There appear to be a number of partner companies and universities involved in the consortium that appears to be broken out by nano/materials specialists, fiber/yarn manufacturers, and textile companies.



However, one of the most interesting things I found on the website was the consortium's video. At first the video looks to be nothing more than a powerpoint slide-show, but toward the end they show some pretty good clips of processing capabilities: fiber extrusion, fiber webs, needle-punch nonwovens, and electrospinning.

Please let us know if you have any further info on the projects being pursued under this consortium...

Berlin -- Who's In?

So I just happened to be flipping through one of the many, many, MANY mailers I get from Pira and Intertech and saw the Plastic Electronics brochure. To my surprise they have snuck in an "Smart" Textiles program -- which begs the question, "will this be Pira's offering of Intelligent Textiles for the year?"
The offering for talks is not that extensive, but I guess the main draw is the display, OLEDs, and power programs. And while it is a relatively small offering compared to previous conferences, perhaps the inclusion with similar technology areas will create unique collaborations and opportunities. Let's hope so...maybe I'll even get to go!

iPhone chest-harness

Peel's iphone chest-harness at the OR Show in SLC