Safety wearables
Introduction
electronic fabrics, electronic textiles, textronic garments or e-textiles (often confused with smart fabrics) are fabrics "Fabric (textile)") that allow the integration of digital components, such as a battery and a light (including small computers), and electronic components. "Smart fabrics" are fabrics that have been developed thanks to new technologies that provide added value to the user.[1] Pailes-Friedman, from the Pratt Institute, states that "what makes smart fabrics revolutionary is that they have the ability to do many things that traditional fabrics cannot, such as communicate, transform, conduct energy and even grow."[2].
These fabrics can be divided into two different categories: aesthetic and performance enhancing. Aesthetic examples include fabrics that light up and fabrics that can change color. Some of these tissues collect energy from the environment by capturing vibrations, sounds or heat, reacting to these stimuli. The lighting and color changing scheme can also work by embedding electronic components in the fabric as a power source. Smart performance-enhancing fabrics have been designed for use in sporting activities, extreme sports and military uses. These include fabrics designed to regulate body temperature, reduce wind resistance and control muscle vibration, all of which improve sports performance. Other fabrics have been designed to create protective clothing, to protect against extreme environmental hazards, such as radiation and the effects of space travel.[3] The health and beauty industry is also taking advantage of these innovations, ranging from the release of medicinal products through fabrics, to fabrics with moisturizing, scenting and anti-aging properties.[4] Many smart clothing, wearable technologies (also called wearables) and wearable computing projects involve the use of e-textiles.[5].
Electronic textiles are different from wearable technology since they are focused on the imperceptible integration of electronic elements in textiles, such as microcontrollers, sensors and actuators. Furthermore, it is not necessary for e-textiles to be portable. For example, e-textiles are also found in interior design.
The related field of fibertronics") explores how electronic and computational functionalities can be integrated into textile fibers.
A new report from Cientifica Limited Market Research analyzes the markets for wearable technologies incorporated into textiles, the companies that produce them and the technologies that make them possible. In the report they distinguish three different generations of wearable textile technologies: