Electronic textiles and their potential

Abstract

Textile materials are generally lightweight, flexible and unique in many ways compared to other materials. Most importantly, they are omnipresent in our lives. Textiles are necessary next to our skin as well as in our environment. They are used for comfort and protection as well as fashion. In the near future, almost all textile products including what we wear and walk on seem destined to be transformed from their present to multifunctional, adaptive and responsive systems. The functions may include communication, computation and entertainment, as well as health care and threat detection. Textiles used in non-apparel applications may perform surveillance and detection functions. Some of the concepts being explored currently may revolutionize our understanding and appreciation of fiber-textile products. This paper reports the developments in the field of electronic textiles, focusing on the current state-of-the-art of electrotextile products and the research being carried out in this field.